The Government of India may extend its Rs 4.5 trillion Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), which ends on March 31, 2022, to the next financial year. It is because a large number of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), particularly in the services sector, still need liquidity support as the Covid-19 pandemic is not yet over, and new variants are emerging. Under the ECLGS scheme, MSMEs and professionals are eligible to get additional working capital finance in the form of a term loan. Besides providing liquidity support to more than 10 million business enterprises, the scheme has protected about 54.5 million jobs.
