Kolkata, Mar 27 (KNN) West Bengal has emerged as the biggest beneficiary of the Centre's Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), a collateral-free easy loan facility aimed at protecting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over two million MSMEs in West Bengal, constituting 17.65 per cent of the total 11.4 million recipients across the country, have availed the ECLGS scheme.

The other top beneficiary states are Maharashtra (8.56 per cent), Odisha (8.15 per cent), Tamil Nadu (7.69 per cent), and Karnataka (7.67 per cent), according to a government official.

The ECLGS scheme, launched as part of the economic stimulus package in 2020, has reached MSMEs even in the smallest states, hill areas, and union territories.

For instance, 2,111 MSMEs in Andaman & Nicobar; 8,180 units in Sikkim; 3,149 in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu; 12,083 in Goa; 826 in Ladakh; 374 in Lakshadweep; 9,658 in Manipur; 3,461 in Mizoram; 7,319 in Nagaland; and 34,451 in Jammu & Kashmir have benefited from the scheme.

Overall, a total of Rs 2,42,768.62 crore worth of guarantees were issued to MSMEs across the country under the ECLGS scheme as of March 7, 2024.

The scheme has benefited nearly 12 million businesses, including 11.4 million MSMEs and professionals, with a total guarantee amount of more than Rs 3.68 lakh crore, with Rs 2.43 lakh crore issued to MSMEs, as per government data.

In terms of the guarantee amount, industrialised states topped the list, with Maharashtra receiving guarantees worth Rs 34,107.53 crore, followed by Tamil Nadu (Rs 27,141.49 crore) and Gujarat (Rs 24,493.95 crore).

(KNN Bureau)