TravTalk India Online Magazine
Tourism & hospitality industry hails the government’s decision to enhance ECLGS limit by `50,000 crore.
TT Bureau
G. Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Tourism, Culture and Development of the Northeastern Region (DoNER)praised the government’s decision to enhance the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) limit by `50,000 crore from `4.5 lakh crore to `5 lakh crore, with the additional amount being earmarked exclusively for enterprises in hospitality and related sectors.
“The ongoing pandemic has adversely impacted the hospitality and tourism related sectors severely. The enhancement in the limit of ECLGS by `50,000 crore from `4.5 Lakh crore to `5 Lakh crore has been earmarked exclusively for enterprises in hospitality and related sectors. This decision is timely as the demand for these services is picking up,” he said.He also pointed out, “The Modi Government has been taking immediate actions and doing whatever it takes to restore and reactivate the tourism sector while protecting jobs and businesses. We are planning to support the sustainable recovery of tourism, shifting to eco-tourism and rethinking tourism for the future”. The enhancement is expected to provide much needed relief to enterprises in these sectors by incentivising lending institutions to provide additional credit of up to `50,000 crore at low cost, thereby enabling these business enterprises to meet their operational liabilities and continue their businesses. Loans of about `3.67 Lakh crore have been sanctioned under ECLGS till 5 August 2022.”
Claiming that the tourism and hospitality play a pivotal role in economic development and the central government has been actively engaging with industry and other stakeholders to revive the economy. “I thank Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji for extending the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme validity till 31 March 2023. With this all business enterprises/ MSMEs in the hospitality and related sectors like hotels and restaurants, marriage halls, canteens, travel agents, tour operators, adventure or heritage facilities, leisure and sporting, private bus operators, car repair services, rent a car service providers, event/conference organisers, spa clinics, beauty salons, motor vehicle aggregators, cinema halls, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditorium, yoga institutes, gymnasiums, other fitness centres, units/persons engaged in catering or cooking and floriculture products etc will be eligible for borrowing,” he shared.
Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Vice President, Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), added, “The Union Cabinet’s decision to approve an additional ECLGS worth `50,000 crore specifically for hospitality, travel and tourism sectors is a welcome one. The additional line of credit was much needed by the hospitality sector which is still grappling with massive debts and is simultaneously trying to keep business running. Travel has picked up and tourism destinations are seeing a revival. Several hospitality establishments cannot sustain operations without sufficient liquidity, but the extended ECLGS could help businesses buy some more time to keep the wheels in motion. We thank the Government for considering our appeal for earmarking an ECLGS for the sector.”
ECLGS is an already operational scheme and on account of the disruptions caused by the pandemic on hospitality and related sectors, Government has specifically earmarked an amount of `50,000 crore for enterprises in these sectors. The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has approved the latest enhancement in the limit. The increase has been done on account of the severe disruptions caused by COVID-19 pandemic on hospitality and related enterprises.
