New Delhi, Sep 26 (KNN) A new portal has been launched by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to fast-track loans for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

This step was taken as the government promised that banks will approve funding up to Rs 1 crore in 59 minutes without entrepreneurs having to visit branches. 

Financial Services Secretary, Rajiv Kumar, said that businesses need to submit GST and income tax details, along with bank statement, to be eligible for speedier loan sanctions.

He added that the loan will be disbursed within eight days.

Kumar said banks have been asked to provide banking facility to 8,800 villages across the country which currently does not have any touch point in a 5-km radius. 

As to avoid fraud in the system, once an MSME fills up the application form online and submits the required details, a single gateway will integrate platforms that will help perform back-end checks with the ministry of corporate affairs and credit information bureau for product checks before the loan is sanctioned. 

By linking online loan approvals with GST and tax returns, the government is seeking to reward those who are now part of the formal economy, a key thrust area of the Narendra Modi government.

The government is keen to push funding to small businesses through schemes like MUDRA as it sees them as an engine of growth and a generator of jobs.

Two new initiatives were also announced by Jaitley including ranking states on financial inclusion, and a mobile app to help consumers locate the closest bank branches and ATMs.

The portal has been set up by SIDBI along with SBI, PNB, Bank of Baroda, Indian Bank and Vijaya Bank, with other banks expected to join in the coming days.