New Delhi, Apr 2 (KNN) The Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE), a government scheme providing collateral-free loan guarantees to eligible MSMEs, has witnessed a remarkable surge in the financial year 2023-24.

According to data shared by CGTMSE on X (formerly Twitter), the scheme approved a staggering Rs 2 lakh crore in guarantees during FY24 – the highest ever in a single fiscal year.

This figure marks a significant doubling from the previous year, when CGTMSE approved Rs 1.04 lakh crore in guarantees across 11.65 lakh accounts in FY23 and Rs 56,172 crore across 7.17 lakh accounts in FY22, as reported by FE Aspire in July 2023.

Celebrating this achievement, CGTMSE took to X, stating, "We believed we could and we did it again! Rs 2 lakh crore guarantee on FY2023-24, highest ever in a single FY. A testament to the growth and success of #CGTMSE."

Notably, the scheme reached the Rs 1 lakh crore loan guarantee mark within the first seven months (April-October) of the current fiscal, compared to the entire FY23 figure of Rs 1.04 lakh crore.

To further expand the scheme's coverage to loans up to Rs 20 lakh, MSME Minister Narayan Rane launched a special initiative in February this year, targeting informal micro enterprises (IMEs) exempted from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.

As per a CGTMSE circular, lenders can now avail up to 85 percent guarantee cover for unsecured loans up to Rs 20 lakh extended to IMEs registered on the Udyam portal.

The MSME Ministry attributed the scheme's widespread adoption among lenders to various initiatives undertaken by CGTMSE, including a reduction in guarantee fees, raising the eligibility limit for guaranteed loans, relaxing pre-conditions for claim settlements, and end-to-end digitisation of operations for improved ease of doing business.

(KNN Bureau)