The industry body representing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises has written to the Reserve Bank of India, seeking to defer payment of emergency loan installments used as part of last year’s Covid-19 relief plan, citing the serious second wave. Comparing the current situation to an “emergency,” the Federation of Indian Small and Medium Enterprises (FISME) said the RBI and the government should quickly establish a working group composed only of relevant stakeholders and beneficiaries to review the issues. problems faced by small businesses in the field. level.

The government unveiled the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Program (ECLGS) in May 2020 for MSMEs to help them overcome the impact of Covid-19 under Atmanirbhar Bharat. The program was then extended to 26 other sectors, and to healthcare, through ECGLS 2.0. FISME has now called for ECLGS 3.0 with “built-in flexibility” to be made available to more companies to deal with the current crisis.

“With tens and thousands of small establishments, lakhs of workers will come on (the) roads, increasing human misery,” he warned. “In economic terms too, it will reduce purchasing power further, creating a vicious cycle of downward economic spiral.”