SIDBI chairman and managing director Rajendra Mohan Malla had announced this on the sidelines of the recently-concluded investors’ summit. The move comes in the wake of the global economic meltdown.

Malla said that nearly 3.2 lakh MSMEs provide employment to about seven lakh people in Gujarat. “We serve 46 MSME clusters through seven SIDBI branches in the state. We have also approved Rs 46 crore to the Venture Capital and Innovation Fund for Gujarat with the objective of meeting the long term risk capital requirement of innovation and technology oriented units in the state.”

The MSMEs industry clusters together constitute 37.6 per cent of all MSME units, 43.5 per cent of investment, 47.8 per cent of production and 47.2 per cent of employment in the MSME sector in Gujarat. Malla stressed on the need for adopting a ‘clustering approach’ in the sector for proper branding, marketing, designing and packaging.

SIDBI chief further informed that under the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme, loans worth Rs 295 crore to 4,632 MSMEs in Gujarat have already been covered. Under this scheme, collateral-free loans up to Rs 50 lakh are offered and the guarantee cover is to the extent of 75 per cent of the sanctioned amount of the credit facility.

He appealed to the state MSMEs to obtain the SME Rating Agency of India Limited (SMERA) rating, as this would facilitate greater and easier flow of credit from the banking sector to MSMEs.