UP govt targets Rs 15,000 cr loans for MSMEs to ease working capital woes

UP aiming to double MSME exports to Rs 2.40 trillion in 3 years

The Uttar Pradesh government is aiming to facilitate bank loans totalling Rs 15,000 crore to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the short term to overcome the working capital woes during the Covid-19 pandemic.

While 80 per cent of the state’s MSMEs have already started working at 80-100 per cent of their capacities after the lifting of the lockdown, efforts are being made to help the remaining units resume operations quickly.

“We are targeting to disburse loans worth Rs 15,000 crore to the MSMEs, for which the role of the commercial banks would be imperative,” UP Additional Chief Secretary, MSME and Export Promotion, Navneet Sehgal said.

In this regard, he had a virtual interaction, organised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday, with bankers regarding the loans to MSMEs, post the Covid-19 challenges, and the steps needed to provide credit to the sector.

Sehgal underlined the state was aiming to help a large pool of MSMEs under the 'Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme', which was a part of the Rs 20 trillion 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' package announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in May.

Meanwhile, Sehgal sought the co-operation of commercial banks even as he claimed that the “overall growth” of MSMEs in UP was better compared to other states.

“We have also identified industrial clusters under the One District, One Product (ODOP) scheme across the 75 districts of the state,” Sehgal said, adding the banks should select ODOP products and handicrafts for providing the entrepreneurs with easy credit.

The ODOP scheme was launched in 2018 to promote indigenous industries, and handicrafts by facilitating state support in terms of setting up of new enterprises, bank credit and marketing.

He lamented MSME units were still deprived of funding under the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' package. The state has now decided to collate the details of MSMEs to resolve their grievances and provide them the credit line.

Of the total 930,348 industrial units, according to the database of the UP MSME department, about 818,000 units are now functional. More than 70 per cent or 583,000 operational units are working at 80-100 per cent plant load factor (PLF), thus indicating a robust revival of their supply chains.

Similarly, 182,951 units and 34,515 units are working at the PLF of 50-80 per cent and 30-50 per cent, respectively.

These operational industrial plants spanning different categories employ more than 5 million workers. Most of these units are located in the known industrial hubs of the state, including Moradabad, Noida, Ghaziabad, Jhansi, Lucknow, Bhadohi etc.

The Adityanath government is looking to double MSME exports in three years to Rs 2.40 trillion. During 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years, the MSME exports from UP stood at Rs 1.14 trillion and Rs 1.20 trillion respectively.