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India's liquidity-starved MSME sector to get $750 million World Bank funding

During the 2020 fiscal (July 2019-June 2020), World Bank has extended USD 5.13 billion loans to India-- which is the highest in a decade. This includes USD 2.75 billion given in three months in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

July 01, 2020 / 06:58 PM IST

The World Bank on July 1 said it will give a $750-million-budget support to 15 crore MSMEs to increase liquidity access for these viable small businesses impacted by COVID-19.

Between July 2019 to June 2020, World Bank extended $5.13 billion loans to India-- which is the highest in a decade. This includes $2.75 billion given in three months in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

World Bank Country Director in India Junaid Ahmad said this funding is under the multilateral lender's Development Policy Law, a direct budget support.

The funding would support the government's initiative to protect the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector by unlocking liquidity, strengthening non-banking financial companies and small finance banks and enable inclusive access to financing.

Ahmad said in the next stage of the World Bank's assistance programme for MSMEs, the multilateral lender would engage with the MSME Ministry and the states to ensure capacity development at cluster level.

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"World Bank's board of executive directors has approved a USD 750 million MSME Emergency Response program to support the increased flow of finance into the hands of MSMEs, severely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis," World Bank said in a statement.

Earlier, the lender had approved a funding of USD 1 billion each for social and health sector for support during the pandemic.

(With PTI inputs)

Moneycontrol News
first published: Jul 1, 2020 01:05 pm

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