IGI Logo

During the seminar on “Credit Expansion: Propelling the growth of Indian Economy” organized by The Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI) Committee of the PHDCCI on 2^nd September, 2023, Mr. Rajiv Ranjan Jha, Director (Projects), Power Finance Corporation Limited said that PFC deals with the borrowers as the project partner and supports the project till it gets complete.

Mr. Jha, in his keynote address said that PFC is focused majorly on large corporate credit/loans in the power & energy sector. PFC has supported and revived many projects which were under stress due to uncontrolled external environmental factors looking into the good intention of the borrower to repay the loan. He suggested that MSMEs should also look into the business opportunities in the clean energy sector which is growing at a faster pace in India.

Mr. Saket Dalmia, President, PHDCCI gave his Presidential Remarks and suggested to scale up the economy with new technology and added that credit required at the right time and with the right amount is critical. He said that working capital /project capital is the need of the MSME sector which should be taken care of with the right intention and the MSME sector needs to be supported by the Government and the banking sector.

Mr Rajnish Kumar, Chair, BFSI Committee, PHDCCI gave his welcome remarks along with the theme presentation. He said that GDP of India is improving very well year on year and the way things are going on, India may surprise by becoming No. 1 economy of the world by 2047.He highlighted that Indian market is still underpenetrated as far as credit is concern and credit penetration has to be improved significantly if GDP has to grow at a faster pace. He added that Digitalization and Formalization is happening and the flow of credit from the Banking Sector (Formal Sector) to the formalized economy will improve in the coming days.

Mr. Ambikanand Jha, General Manager & Zonal Head, UCO Bank, New Delhi gave a brief introduction about the UCO Bank and said that banks are very much focused on financing the MSMEs as revenue margins are very low in retail loans. He added that if the documentation and credibility of the customer is as per bank’s norms and requirements, the loans are processed very smoothly and at a faster mode.

Mr. S.R. Meena, General Manager, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) said that SIDBI is having all kinds of products for MSMEs as per their needs at reasonable pricing. He added that SIDBI is now a Fin-tech Bank for MSMEs and accepts all the loan applications in online mode only. SIDBI has developed a Fin-tech platform which is called as Express Loan for MSMEs where all the loan applications and documentation will be taken digitally and will also be sanctioned digitally. He detailed various loan schemes of SIDBI for different business sectors.

Ms. Manushree Saggar, Vice President, ICRA Limited said that Credit expansion in MSME Sector is growing well with support of banking and non-banking sectors. Loans to the MSME sector are growing at 25-30% YOY. She added that the availability of GST and bureau/credit rating agencies data available to lenders has improved the turnaround time of credit /loans.

Mr. Dev Prakash Goel, Co-Chair, MSME Committee, PHDCCI & Managing Director, Conquerent Control Systems Pvt Ltd. said that lenders should also consider the past business profitability/performance, credibility in the market and intention of the borrower beside the balance sheet of the entity to give the credit /loans. He said that banks should increase the CC/OD limit considering the expenses done on testing of electrical equipment or research and development.

Mr. Mukesh Mohan Gupta, President, Chamber of Indian Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (CIMSME) suggested that banks should receive all the applications in online mode and should specify proper reasons if the loan application is rejected. He said that maximum MSME schemes are available on his MSME Helpline YouTube channel to facilitate the sector.

Mr. Sanjeev Aggarwal, Chief Financial Officer, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd. said that in tyre industry investment on research & development, routine testing & machinery is too much which should be funded by the banks timely without any delay. He added that transmission of change in rate of interest should be faster so that customers can get the timely benefit of reduction in rate of interest.

Ms. Ritu Prakash Singh, Assistant Vice President – MSME Research Investor Relations, UGRO Capital Limited said that MSME is the backbone of the Indian economy. She added that MSMEs are contributing around 45% in total exports of the country and making India Atmanirbhar Bharat. She said that there is a credit gap of 20-25 lakh crores in the MSME sector that needs to be addressed on a very urgent basis.

Mr. Deepak Jain, Chief General Manager, Power Finance Corporation Limited gave a brief presentation on the products and services of PFC. He stated that PFC is the largest NBFC in the country with a loan book of around 4.5 lakh crores and net worth of 0.72 lakh crores. He highlighted that PFC is AAA rated company which leads to lowest cost of borrowings. PFC has transformed from conventional lending of thermal and hydro projects to renewable energy projects.

Mr. Akshay Kumar, Assistant General Manager, Head-SME, UCO Bank, New Delhi gave a presentation on loan products and services for MSMEs and said that UCO bank has systemized all the loan products for MSMEs as per sectorial business requirements. He highlighted that in FY 2022-23, UCO Bank contributed around 18% growth in MSMEs loans which was highest among all the PSU Banks.

Mr. Raman Aggarwal, Director, Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC) said that NBFCs have contributed significantly in funding to MSMEs in the last two years. He suggested that MSMEs should have their GST filings up to date as this is going to be an account aggregator and backbone of their credibility in the market.

Mr. Vivek Goyal, Group CEO-SAS Group & Board Member-SV Creditline Pvt. Ltd. said that primarily bankers look for three C’s i.e. Character, Capacity and Credibility of borrower while funding. He suggested that bankers should handhold MSMEs in skill development and capacity building in financial management. He said that Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning (AIML) needs to be used to fully automate the system to give instant loans as and when required by the MSMEs.

Mr. Rahul Narang, Professional, Retail & MSME Finance said that PSU Banks must increase their distribution channels to enhance their reach in the market. He added that post covid, credit/loans for MSMEs have expanded at a very faster pace. He also suggested that the MSME sector should be given right credit/loan products looking into their business requirements.

Mr. Sanjeev Gupta, Co-Chair, BFSI Committee, PHDCCI gave the opening remarks and moderated the session along with sharing his viewpoints. He shared the agenda of the day and set the theme of the seminar in a very simple and easily understandable form.

Mr.Ashish Agrawal, Co-Chair, BFSI Committee, PHDCCI gave concluding remarks and formal Vote of Thanks for the session.

Dr. Ranjeet Mehta, Executive Director, PHDCCI felicitated the eminent speakers of the session along with other dignitaries.

Ms. Babeeta Sharma, Sr. Secretary – Finance, Head –BFSI Committee, PHD CCI opened the session and also moderated the felicitation part of the seminar.

The seminar was sponsored by Power Finance Corporation Ltd., UCO Bank, Punjab National Bank, SMC Finance and supported by PHDCCI annual sponsors, DLF Ltd; Jindal Steel & Power; KLJ Group; Multani Pharmaceuticals Ltd; Marble City; MMG Group; Radico Khaitan Ltd;  Uflex Ltd; Vestige; Eazy ERP Technologies; JK Tyre & Industries Ltd; Sagar Group of Industries; Superior Industries Limited; Samsung India Electronics; Oswal Greentech; Apeejay Stya Group; Blossom Kochhar Beauty Products Pvt Ltd; DCM Shriram;  R E Rogers; Trident Group; Ajit Industries Pvt Ltd;  Bhagwati Plastic and Pipes Industries; Central Coalfields Ltd; DD Pharmaceutical Ltd.;  Hindware Sanitary; Jindal Steel;  Modern Automobiles;  P S BEDI & Co.;

Above views are of the author and not of the website kindly read disclaimer