Expansion of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Expansion of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme.

▪️Why in News

✅ Recently, the government has extended the Rs. 3-lakh-crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) until 30th June 2021, and also widened its scope to new sectors, including hospitality, travel and tourism.

✅ ECLGS was rolled out in May 2020 as part of the Centre’s Atmanirbhar package in response to the Covid-19 crisis.

🔸The objective was to support small businesses struggling to meet their operational liabilities due to the imposition of a nationwide lockdown.

Key Points

▪️ECLGS 1.0:

✅ To provide fully guaranteed and collateral free additional credit to MSMEs, business enterprises, MUDRA borrowers and individual loans for business purposes to the extent of 20% of their credit outstanding as on 29th February, 2020.

✅ MSMEs with up to Rs 25. crore outstanding and Rs. 100 crore turnover were eligible.

✅ However, the turnover cap was removed post amendment to ECLGS 2.0 in November 2020.

▪️ECLGS 2.0:

✅ The amended version focused on entities in 26 stressed sectors identified by the Kamath Committee along with the healthcare sector with credit outstanding of more than Rs. 50 crore and up to Rs. 500 crore as of 29th February, 2020.

✅ The scheme also mandated borrower accounts to be less than or equal to 30 days past due as of 29th February, 2020, that is, they should not have been classified as SMA 1, SMA 2, or NPA by any of the lenders as of 29th February 2020.

🔸SMAs are special mention accounts, which show signs of incipient stress, that lead to the borrower defaulting in servicing the debt.

🔸While SMA-0 are accounts having payments partially or wholly overdue for 1-30 days, SMA-1 and SMA-2 accounts have payments overdue for 31-60 days and 61-90 days respectively.

🔸The revised scheme also has a five-year repayment window up from four years in ECLGS 1.0.

▪️ECLGS 3.0:

✅ It involves extending credit of up to 40% of total credit outstanding across all lending institutions as on 29th February 2020.

✅ The tenor of loans granted under ECLGS 3.0 would be 6 years, including a moratorium period of 2 years.

✅ Covers business enterprises in Hospitality, Travel & Tourism, Leisure & Sporting sectors,Which had, as on 29th february 2020.

🔸Total credit outstanding not exceeding Rs. 500 crore and overdues, if any, were for 60 days or less.

✅ National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) is the guarantee provider under the ECLGS scheme.

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Expansion of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme.

Delhi AQI drops to 'emergency' category as pollution level spikes overnight - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Delhi AQI drops to 'emergency' category as pollution level spikes overnight.

The hazardous pollution levels forced a number of people to miss morning walks and other activities.

The blanket of haze over Delhi thickened on Friday morning with the national capital's pollution levels increasing overnight by around 50 points, taking the overall air quality index to 459.

A Central Pollution Control Board official said the AQI entered the "severe plus" or "emergency" category late Thursday night, the first time since January this year.
If the air quality persists in the "severe plus" category for more than 48 hours, emergency measures such as odd-even car rationing scheme, banning entry of trucks, construction activities and shutting down schools are taken under the Graded Response Action Plan, the official said.
The hazardous pollution levels forced a number of people to miss morning walks and other activities.
Shubhomoy Sikdar, a Delhi-based journalist, said the pollution levels gave him a throat infection and he had to skip his daily sports session.
The number of masked faces continued to grow as the city remained shrouded in pungent haze for the fourth consecutive day.
At 8.30 am, the capital's overall air quality index stood at 459. It was 410 at 8 pm on Thursday.
All the 37 air quality monitoring stations across Delhi recorded the air quality in the severe category on Friday morning.
Bawana was the most-polluted area with an AQI of 497, followed by Delhi Technological University (487), Wazirpur (485), Anand Vihar (484) and Vivek Vihar (482).
Neighbouring Ghaziabad was the most-polluted city in the country, with the levels of PM2.5 -- tiny particulate matter less than 2.5 microns that can enter deep into the lungs -- reaching as high as 493.
Greater Noida (480), Noida (477), and Faridabad (432) also breathed extremely polluted air.
An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor, and 401-500 severe. Above 500 is severe-plus or emergency category.
Delhi is impatiently hoping for favourable meteorological conditions to blow away the toxic air, as health experts said the hazardous air pollution has become a serious health concern for about 2 crore residents.
"Intake of every 22 micrograms per cubic metre of polluted air is equivalent to smoking a cigarette. So whether the PM2.5 level is 700 or 300 units, the impact is still as bad. People need to take precautions, especially those suffering from asthma, bronchitis or other respiratory illness," said Dr Arvind Kumar, lung surgeon at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here.
Weather experts said increased wind speed due to a fresh western disturbance approaching the northern region would help disperse pollutants faster from Saturday.
Parents are a worried lot as health experts say children breathe faster, taking in more pollutants.
Many took to Twitter to demand that schools be shut till the situation ameliorates.
"We, as parents, request Delhi government to keep all schools (pvt and govt) shut for the time being," Anil Atri, a Delhi resident, posted on the microblogging site.
"Whole Delhi air at hazardous levels now. Pollution at its peak. Activate all emergency measures. Close down schools @msisodia (sic)," another resident tweeted.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had on Wednesday said the decision to shut schools would be taken "when the need arises". In November 2017, the government had shut schools for a few days due to the deteriorating air quality.
The government, however, started distributing 50 lakh N95 masks, considered one of the good quality masks for tackling smog, among school students in Delhi on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, the BCCI said it would carry on with the India-Bangladesh T20 at the Feroz Shah Kotla grounds on Sunday, disregarding concerns raised by environmentalists about the health of players and thousands of spectators.
The AQI takes into account five chief pollutants -- particulate matter with a diameter less than 10 micrometres (PM10), PM2.5, ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO).
The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and health concerns. (Source: The Business Standard)


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Delhi AQI drops to 'emergency' category as pollution level spikes overnight.