Page 635 - ES 2020-21_Volume-1-2 [28-01-21]

262 Economic Survey 2020-21 Volume 2

8.2 A bouquet of measures equivalent to ` 29.87 lakh crores or 15 per cent of India’s GDP
were introduced as a measure of relief and support to the economy. These were subsequently
backed by initiatives to further strengthen the economy. The details of the stimulus package
pertaining to industry and infrastructure sector is in Box-1.

Box-1: Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan

Atmanirbhar Bharat is the vision of the GoI of making India a self-reliant nation. The announcements
under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan were made in three tranches. The key measures pertaining to
industry and infrastructure are summarized below:
Atmanirbhar Bharat 1.0

I. Relief and credit support to MSMEs to fight against COVID-19.
1. ` 3 lakh crores Collateral-free Automatic Loans for Businesses, including MSMEs: The
Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) has been formulated as a relief measure
to the MSMEs by providing them additional funding of up to ` 3 lakh crores in the form of a
fully guaranteed emergency credit line. The borrowers with up to ` 25 crores outstanding and
` 100 crores turnover are eligible. This scheme provides 100 per cent credit guarantee cover to
Banks and NBFCs on principal and interest. No guarantee fee, no fresh collateral is required.
2. ` 20,000 crores Subordinate Debt for Stressed MSMEs: Provision made for ` 20,000
crores subordinate debt for the MSMEs which are NPAs or are stressed. Government to support
them with ` 4,000 crores to Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro and Small enterprises (CGTMSE).
Banks are expected to provide the subordinate-debt to promoters of such MSMEs equal to
15 per cent of the existing stake in the unit subject to a maximum of ` 75 lakhs.
3. ` 50,000 crores equity infusion through MSME Fund of Funds: Government to set up
a Fund of Funds with a corpus of ` 10,000 crores that will provide equity funding support
for the MSMEs. The Fund of Funds shall be operated through a mother and a few daughter
funds. It will provide equity funding for viable MSMEs. This scheme will help the MSMEs
to expand its size and capacity and will also encourage them to get listed on stock exchanges.
4. New definition of MSME: Low threshold in the MSME definition have created a fear
among the MSMEs of graduating out of the benefits. Hence, the government has revised the
definition of MSME by raising the investment limit. An additional criteria of turnover has
been introduced and distinction between manufacturing and service sector stands removed.
Revised MSME classification is discussed in Table 9.
5. Global tenders to be disallowed upto ` 200 crores: General Financial Rules (GFR) of the
Government amended to disallow global tender enquiries in government procurement of
goods and services of value of less than ` 200 crores. This is a step in support of the Make in
India initiative and will promote MSMEs to grow.

6. Other Measures for MSMEs: e-market linkage for MSMEs to act as a replacement for trade fairs
and exhibitions. The MSME receivables from the Government and the CPSEs to be released in
45 days. This would help the MSMEs to solve the problems of marketing and liquidity.
7. Income Tax Refund: Income tax refunds to nearly 8.2 lakh small businesses worth ` 5,204
crores has been issued with the objective to help the MSMEs to carry on their business
activities without pay cuts and layoffs in these challenging times.