Parul
Finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has reportedly said in a media briefing that out of 5.53 lakh MSME accounts, 5.28 lakh loans have been restructured. Further, the restructuring of the remaining of the MSME accounts will be done by March 15.
In fact, the Reserve Bank of India had earlier extended the loan restructuring timeline for MSME accounts from earlier March 31, 2020, to December 31, 2020, without downgrading the asset classification to standard accounts.
In the budget speech, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had quoted that over 5 lakh MSMEs have benefited from the restructuring of debt permitted by the RBI in the last year. The minister further stated that the one-time restructuring exercise is likely to give relief to MSMEs as it would help them improve their balance sheets in order to raise more capital given the challenges small businesses face in securing affordable credit.
The finance minister also proposed a subordinate debt scheme for MSMEs wherein the debt will be provided by banks. This debt would be counted as quasi-equity and would be fully guaranteed through the 27 Credit Guarantee Trust for Medium and Small Entrepreneurs.
