Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced a credit guarantee programme worth Rs 1.1 lakh crore for COVID-affected industries.

Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister, has proposed a Rs 1.1 lakh crore loan guarantee scheme for COVID-affected sectors, which is divided into two parts: Rs 50,000 crore for the health sector and Rs 60,000 crore for other sectors.

Furthermore, The Minister declared an additional Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS). Sector-specific information will be provided as needed. This credit guarantee scheme will assist MFIs in providing loans of up to Rs 1.25 lakh to a total of 25 lakh people.

She also committed to provide financial assistance to over 11,000 registered tourist guides/travel and tourism stakeholders through the COVID-affected sectors loan guarantee plan.

Following the resumption of visa issuing, Sitharaman declared that the first 5 lakh tourist visas will be provided free of charge. The Atmanirbhar Bharta Rozgar Yojana has been extended to March 31, 2022, from June 30, 2021.

The existing maximum for the ECLGS scheme was Rs 3 lakh crore, which was announced as part of the Rs 20 lakh crore Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package in May 2020. Last month, the finance minister broadened the scope of the Rs 3 lakh crore ECLGS by allowing hospitals to take out concessional loans to build on-site oxygen generating plants.

Under the ECLGS 4.0, hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and medical institutions received a 100 percent guarantee on loans up to Rs 2 crore for the installation of on-site oxygen generation units.

The interest rate on these loans is regulated at 7.5 percent, which means banks can't provide loans that are less than that.