The Hon. Sunil Handunnetti - Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development

¶ 01 Hon. Member, sectoral issues are addressed via 26 industry advisory councils under the Ministry—for apparel, automotive, boatbuilding, etc.—with coordination alongside the Export Development Board and the BOI. On credit, our Ministry operated three loan schemes; although funds were allocated, banks have often preferred their own products due to recovery responsibility, limiting uptake of our more concessional schemes.

¶ 02 Accordingly, in consultation with the President during the last Budget, we decided to integrate our loan schemes with those of the Ministry of Finance. Under this unified facility, Rs. 95 billion has been earmarked for this year. We conduct monthly reviews with all banks, the Central Bank, and the Finance Ministry’s Debt Management Unit to drive disbursements. No Minister’s letter is required; our loan unit issues recommendations to the Finance Ministry, which coordinates with banks. The next committee meets on 11 March at 2.00 p.m. with the Finance Ministry, our Ministry, the Central Bank, and bank CEOs.

¶ 03 While we cannot waive all interest and charges—since banks must protect depositors—we believe a significant proportion of SMEs are now accessing finance under the integrated scheme. We expect to fully deploy the Rs. 95 billion by year-end. Please refer SME credit issues to us; we will coordinate resolutions with the Finance Ministry and banks.