Gandhinagar, Jun 17 (KNN) Nationalised banks in Gujarat have disbursed loans worth over Rs 2,400 crore to COVID-19 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in the last 15 days.

''Out of total 89,767 MSMEs which had applied for loans during this two-week time, almost 97 per cent or 87,834 applications were approved by the banks,'' said a statement by the Gujarat government on Tuesday.

''While loans worth Rs 5,373 crore has been approved for these 87,834 applicants, Rs 2,428 crore has already been disbursed to 31,000 of these MSMEs in the last 15 days,'' the statement added.

On May 30, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani chaired a virtual meeting through a video conferencing facility with bank officials and industry representatives to discuss ways to help MSME units hit by the lockdown.

The statement further stated that Gujarat has around 33 lakh MSME units providing employment to 1.5 crore people.

''Some private banks have also come forward to provide loans to the MSME units,'' it said.