DoP Signs MoU with Department of Agriculture to strengthen PAN-India Sample Logistics (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Deed of undertaking is not guarantee, and resolution plan does not extinguish rights against third-party security providers unless debt is fully satisfied: SC (See 'Legal Desk') Program launched to train 1 Million young people in AI Skills (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - Continued incarceration of under-trial, without commencement or reasonable progress of trial, results in pre-trial detention being converted into punishment, which is impermissible in law: SC (See 'Legal Desk') ECI to host International Conference on Democracy and Election Management (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI - Inadvertence or technical issues do not absolve listed company from its statutory disclosure obligations: SEBI (See 'Legal Desk') A&C - Enforcement of foreign award can be refused if it is contrary to public policy, however, mere contravention of law does not equate to violation of public policy: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Indusfood Manufacturing 2026 & FoodTech 4.0 Opens at Yashobhoomi (See 'Corp Brief') CCI approves acquisition of Krosaki Harima Corporation by Nippon Steel (See 'Corp Brief') A&C - Right to object to appointment of ineligible arbitrator cannot be taken away by mere implication: SC (See 'Legal Desk') CCI okays acquisition of additional shareholding in Roppen Transportation by MIH Investments (See 'Corp Brief') Ministry of I&B's WaveX signs MoU with FITT-IIT Delhi to boost Innovation (See 'Corp Brief') A&C - Conferment of jurisdiction on specific court or creation of public forum, though eminently significant, may not be decisive test to answer and decide whether arbitrability is impliedly barred: SC (See 'Legal Desk') Working Group discusses Regional Language AI Infrastructure and Reimagining AI Education (See 'Corp Brief') Pax Comfort and Safety enhanced with better Stations: Railways (See 'Corp Brief') IPR - Gaay Chhap had shown prior and continuous use of its marks and made out strong prima facie case of trademark infringement and passing off: HC (See 'Legal Desk') IBBI Chairperson launches IICA PGIP program Website (See 'Corp Brief') Yadav reviews Action Plans of Rajasthan and Punjab to tackle Air Pollution (See 'Corp Brief') IPR - Even if trademark is accepted and advertised and, thereafter, no objection was filed against same, Sec 19 of Trade marks Act empowers Registrar to withdraw acceptance given to said Mark before its registration: HC (See 'Legal Desk') SAIL records Highest-Ever December Sales (See 'Corp Brief') Rajiv Ranjan Singh inaugurates Smart Green Aquaculture Farm (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - It is not the case of the respondent that the petitioner at any point of time was an accused in the investigation or he was evading arrest - Essential requisites of s.73 of CrPC not met - Non-bailable warrants issued stand cancelled: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Railways utilises 80 Percent of CAPEX in First Three Quarters (See 'Corp Brief') Ships built by GSL & other yards are floating symbols of India's sovereignty: RM (See 'Corp Brief') Misc - A litigant cannot be placed in a situation where a statutory right of appeal is rendered illusory on account of procedural or administrative impediments: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Govt announces relaxation for Deep-Tech Startups for DSIR recognition (See 'Corp Brief') ICAR directed to set up laboratory for turmeric testing in Erode (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI - Levy of penalty shall commensurate to disproportionate gain or unfair advantage or loss caused to investor: SEBI (See 'Legal Desk') Fixed-Term Employment fixed under New Labour Codes (See CORP EINSICHT) Competition Law - When opposite party is not dominant in relevant market, question of abuse of dominant position u/s 4 of Competition Act does not arise: CCI (See 'Legal Desk') NTPC Western Region-I signs MoA with Gujarat Cancer & Research Institute (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - COVID-19 limitation extension was intended to cover all proceedings, including those under PMLA: SAFEMA (See 'Legal Desk') Coal Output surges as Captive and Commercial Mines Perform Strongly (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Non- stamping or insufficient stamping of one of documents relied upon by creditor does not impede initiation of insolvency resolution process, which differs from enforcement action: NCLT (See 'Legal Desk') National Textiles Ministers' Conference to be held in Guwahati (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Penalty can be levied if lapses demonstrated non-compliance with statutory and regulatory obligations incumbent on IP, undermining interests of stakeholders and integrity of insolvency process: IBBI (See 'Legal Desk')

Rs 25 Lakh loans, decision in 14 days - Govt moves to enhance credit access for MSMEs

Published: Mar 12, 2025

By TIOLCorplaws News Service

NEW DELHI, MAR 12, 2025: THE Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as a regulator, provides an enabling framework for Regulated Entities (REs) to cater to the financing needs of various sectors of the economy within the prudential boundaries. Further, credit related matters of REs are largely deregulated and the same are governed by the Board approved loan policies of the REs framed under the ambit of relevant regulatory and statutory requirements and terms and conditions of the loan agreement between the borrower and the RE. Banks have been advised to furnish the MSME borrowers with an indicative checklist of documents required for processing the loan application at the time of applying for the loan. For loans up to Rs.25 lakh to units in the Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE) borrowers, banks are advised that the timelines for credit decisions shall not be more than 14 working days. Various measures have been taken for increasing access to credit and finance for MSMEs.

These include:

- Specific targets for lending to MSME sector have been prescribed in Priority Sector guidelines dated 4.9.2020.

- SCBs have been mandated not to accept collateral security in the case of loans up to Rs.10 lakh extended to units in the MSE sector.

- Computation of working capital requirements of MSE units to be minimum 20% of the projected annual turnover for borrowal limits up to Rs.5 crore.

- Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) has been operationalized to address the problem of delayed payments to MSMEs.

- Banks have been advised to link interest rates of loans extended to MSMEs to an external benchmark.

- RBI's Account Aggregator (AA) framework and proposed Third Cohort under Regulatory Sandbox (RS) for MSME Lending is expected to spur innovations that can fill the lending gap for MSMEs through the use of technology and data analytics.

- RBI's Unified Lending Interface (ULI) will make credit more accessible to underserved populations.

- GST Sahay App of SIDBI facilitates 'on tap' invoice-based (cash flow based) small value credit to micro enterprises as a paperless journey.

- Udyam Assist Platform (UAP) to register Informal Micro Enterprises (IMEs) i.e. micro enterprises not registered under the GST regime.

- Under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojna (PMMY), Government has taken various steps towards effective implementation of the Scheme. These include publicity campaigns, simplification of application form, Credit Guarantee Scheme, nomination of Mudra Nodal Officer, frequent reviews at various levels to monitor the achievement against allocated target, etc. Online platforms like Jansamarth portal provide a quick and efficient way to get loans for individuals and businesses, with approvals based on digital evaluation of the applicant's data.

- PSBLoansin59minutes enables MSMEs to obtain In-principle approval of loans from lenders onboarded on the platform.

- SAMADHAAN Portal launched for monitoring of outstanding dues to the MSEs from the buyers of goods and services xiii. The Government of India has launched various Credit Guarantee schemes for the benefit of MSMEs.

- New Credit Assessment Model based on the scoring of digital footprints of MSMEs developed by PSBs will leverage the digitally fetched and verifiable data available in the ecosystem and devise automated journeys for MSME Loan appraisal using objective decisioning for all loan applications and model-based limit assessment for MSME borrowers.

This information was given by Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha yesterday.

TIOL CORP SEARCH

TIOL GROUP WEBSITES