Credit and Finance for MSMEs: The psbloansin59minutes portal, which provides in-principle bank approval to a term loan or working capital loan for MSMEs from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 crore, has recorded 2.38 lakh loans involving Rs 80,379 crore sanctioned as of March 2, 2022, since the launch of the portal in November 2018, official data available from the MSME Ministry showed. Out of the total sanctioned, 2.21 lakh applications involving Rs 65,331 crore were disbursed. This was up 5.9 per cent from 2.09 lakh loans involving Rs 59,548 crore disbursed as of February 1, 2021.

Importantly, credit disbursed via the 59-minute loan portal was 4.3 per cent of the overall Rs 15,19,495 crore deployed by banks to MSMEs in January this year. The data on MSME credit deployment was sourced from the Reserve Bank of India’s data on sectoral deployment of bank credit released earlier this month.

“Our targets are quite high but we would like to reach 10-15 lakhs in sanctioned loans by end of next year. This target is reachable if MSMEs are aware of the scheme and start applying, they can access credit as banks anyway have to lend money to MSMEs as it is a priority sector,” Jinand Shah, Chief Executive Officer, Online PSB Loans that operates SIDBI’s 59-minute loan scheme had told Financial Express Online. 

While the approval of a loan application is expected in 59 minutes of its submission on the portal, the turnaround time in disbursement might vary. According to the portal, the more accurate the data, the sooner borrowers will get disbursal while generally, post-in-principal approval, the loan is expected to be sanctioned/disbursed in 7-8 working days.

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“We had taken a loan of Rs 80 lakh through the 59-minute portal in 2020 from Indian Overseas Bank (IOB). In fact, the amount was disbursed within a day of applying for the loan on the portal. However, I think we got it because we have been IOB’s customer over the past 40 years and the bank has been aware of our strong business credentials. I don’t know how easy it would be for any other business with a relatively newer account with any bank to raise credit through this portal,” Noida-based Vishwa Nath who runs Nath Bros Exim International for garment manufacturing and supplying of textile goods told Financial Express Online. 

The 59-minute portal is also linked to the government’s Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) for disbursement. MSMEs are required to share GST identification number, IT returns, six-month bank statements, and owner’s details. However, eligibility for raising credit through the portal depends on the revenue, repayment capacity of the business, and existing credit facilities as MSMEs, which had raised loans earlier under other government schemes, can also apply for loans through the portal.