RBI/2009-10/59
RPCD.SME & NFS. BC. No.10/ 06.02.31/ 2009-10

July 1, 2009

The Chairman/Managing Director/
Chief Executive Officer

All Scheduled Commercial Banks
(including Regional Rural Banks/Local Area Banks)

Dear Sir,

MASTER CIRCULAR - LENDING TO MICRO, SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (MSME) SECTOR

As you are aware, the Reserve Bank of India has, from time to time, issued a number of guidelines/instructions/directives to banks in the matters relating to lending to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Sector. To enable the banks to have current instructions at one place, a Master Circular incorporating the existing guidelines/instructions/directives on the subject has been prepared and is appended. This Master Circular consolidates the instructions issued by the RBI up to June 30, 2009, which are listed in the Appendix, to theextentthey deal with the MSME sector lending by commercial banks.

Please acknowledge receipt.

Yours faithfully,

(R.C.Sarangi)
Chief General Manager

LENDING TO MSME SECTOR

SECTION-I

Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006

The Government of India has enacted the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006 on June 16, 2006 which was notified on October 2, 2006. With the enactment of MSMED Act 2006, the paradigm shift that has taken place is the inclusion of the services sector in the definition of Micro, Small & Medium enterprises, apart from extending the scope to medium enterprises. The MSMED Act, 2006 has modified the definition of micro, small and medium enterprises engaged in manufacturing or production and providing or rendering of services. The Reserve Bank has notified the changes to all scheduled commercial banks. Further, the definition, as per the Act, has been adopted for purposes of bank credit vide RBI circular ref. RPCD.PLNFS. BC.No.63/ 06.02.31/ 2006-07 dated April 4, 2007.

1. Definition of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

(a) Enterprises engaged in the manufacture or production, processing or preservation of goods as specified below:

i) A micro enterprise is an enterprise where investment in plant and machinery does not exceed Rs. 25 lakh;

ii) A small enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in plant and machinery is more than Rs. 25 lakh but does not exceed Rs. 5 crore; and

iii) A medium enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in plant and machinery is more than Rs.5 crore but does not exceed Rs.10 crore.

In case of the above enterprises, investment in plant and machinery is the  original cost excluding land and building and the items specified by the Ministry of Small Scale Industries vide its notification No. S.O. 1722(E) dated October 5, 2006 (Annex 1).

1.(b) Enterprises engaged in providing or rendering of services and whose investment in equipment (original cost excluding land and building and furniture, fittings and other items not directly related to the service rendered or as may be notified under the MSMED Act, 2006) are specified below.

(i) A micro enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in equipment does not exceed Rs. 10 lakh;

(ii) A small enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in equipment is more than Rs.10 lakh but does not exceed Rs. 2 crore; and

(iii) A medium enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in equipment is more than Rs. 2 crore but does not exceed Rs. 5 crore.

These will include small road & water transport operators, small business, professional & self-employed persons and all other service enterprises.

Bank’s lending to medium enterprises will not be included for the purpose of reckoning under the priority sector.

1.1 Khadi and Village Industries Sector (KVI)

All advances granted to units in the KVI sector, irrespective of their size of operations, location and amount of original investment in plant and machinery will be covered under priority sector advances and will be  eligible for consideration under the sub-target (60 per cent) of the small enterprises segment within the priority sector.

1.2 INDIRECT FINANCE

1.2.1 Persons involved in assisting the decentralised sector in the supply of inputs and marketing of outputs of artisans, village and cottage industries.

1.2.2  Advances to cooperatives of producers in the decentralised sector viz. artisans, village and cottage industries.

1.2.3 Existing investments as on March 31, 2007, made by banks in special   bonds issued by NABARD with the objective of financing exclusively non- farm sector may be classified as indirect finance to Small Enterprises sector till the date of maturity of such bonds or as on March 31, 2010, whichever is earlier. Investments in such special bonds made subsequent to March 31, 2007 will, however, not be eligible for such classification.

1.2.4 Deposits placed with SIDBI by foreign banks, having offices in India, on account of non-achievement of priority sector lending targets/sub-targets and outstanding as on April 30, 2007 would be eligible for classification as indirect finance to Small Enterprises sector till the date of maturity of such deposits or March 31, 2010, whichever is earlier. However, fresh deposits placed by banks on or after April 30, 2007 with SIDBI on account of non-achievement of priority sector lending targets/sub-targets would not be eligible for classification as indirect finance to Small Enterprises Sector.

1.2.5 Loans granted by banks to NBFCs for on-lending to small and micro enterprises (manufacturing as well as service)

1.2 SECTION II

Certain types of funds deployment eligible as priority sector advances

1. INVESTMENTS

1.1 SECURITIZED ASSETS

Investments made by banks in securitised assets, representing loans to various categories of priority sector, shall be eligible for classification under respective categories of priority sector (direct or indirect) depending on the underlying assets, provided the securitised assets are originated by banks and financial institutions and fulfil the Reserve Bank of India guidelines on securitisation. This would mean that the bank's investments in the above categories of securitised assets shall be eligible for classification under the respective categories of priority sector only if the securitised advances were eligible  to be classified as priority sector advances before their securitisation.

1.2 Outright purchases of any loan asset eligible to be categorised under priority sector, shall be eligible for classification under the respective categories of priority sector (direct or indirect), provided the loans purchased are eligible to be categorised under priority sector; the loan assets are purchased (after due diligence and at fair value) from banks and financial institutions, without any recourse to the seller; and the eligible loan assets are not disposed of, other than by way of repayment, within a period of six months from the date of purchase.

1.3 Investments by banks in Inter Bank Participation Certificates (IBPCs), on a risk sharing basis, shall be eligible for classification under respective categories of priority sector, provided the underlying assets are eligible to be categorised under the respective categories of priority sector and are held for at least 180 days from the date of investment.

2. SCHEME OF SMALL ENTERPRISES FINANCIAL CENTRES (SEFCs):

As per announcement made by the Governor in the Annual Policy Statement 2005-06, a scheme for strategic alliance between branches of banks and SIDBI located in clusters, named as “Small Enterprises Financial Centres” has been formulated in consultation with the Ministry of SSI and Banking Division, Ministry of Finance, Government of India,SIDBI, IBA and select banks and circulated to all scheduled commercial banks on May 20,  2005 for implementation. SIDBI has so far executed MoU with 15 banks so far (Bank of India, UCO Bank, YES Bank, Bank of Baroda, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab National Bank, Dena Bank, Andhra Bank, Indian Bank, Corporation Bank, IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Union Bank of India, State Bank of India and Federal Bank). List of SME clusters covered by existing SIDBI branches is furnised in Annex II .

SECTION III

Targets for priority sector lending by Domestic Commercial Banks (excluding RRBs)

1.Targets for Domestic Commercial Banks

1.1 The domestic commercial banks are expected to enlarge credit to priority sector and ensure that priority sector advances (which includes the small enterprises sector) constitute 40 per cent of Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC) and (60% for RRBs) or credit equivalent amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher. RRBs will have a target of 60 per cent of their outstanding advances for priority sector lending.

1.2 While there is no sub-target fixed for lending to small enterprises sector, as per the policy package announced by the Government of India for stepping up credit to MSME sector, banks may fix self set target for growth in advances to SME sector in order to achieve a minimum 20% year on year growth in credit to MSMEs with the objective to double the flow of credit to the MSME sector within a period of 5 years i.e. from 2005-06 to 2009-10.

1.3 In order to ensure that credit is available to all segments of the Small Enterprises sector, banks should ensure that :-

(a) 40 per cent of the total advances to small enterprises sector should go to micro (manufacturing) enterprises having investment in plant and machinery up to Rs. 5 lakh and micro (service) enterprises having investment in equipment up to Rs. 2 lakh; 

(b) 20 per cent of the total advances to small enterprises sector should go to micro (manufacturing) enterprises with investment in plant and machinery above Rs. 5 lakh and up to Rs. 25 lakh, and micro (service) enterprises with investment in equipment above Rs. 2 lakh and up to Rs. 10 lakh. (Thus 60 per cent of small enterprises advances should go to the micro enterprises)

2. Targets for Foreign Banks

2.1.1 Foreign banks are expected to enlarge credit to priority sector and ensure that priority sector advances (which includes the Small Enterprises sector) constitute 32 per cent of Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC) or credit equivalent amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher.

2.1.2 Within the overall target of 32 per cent to be achieved by foreign banks, the advances to small enterprises sector should not be less than 10 per cent of the adjusted net bank credit (ANBC) or credit equivalent amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher.

2.1.3 In order to ensure that credit is available to all segments of the    Small Enterprises sector, banks should ensure that :-

(a) 40 per cent of the total advances to small enterprises sector should go to micro (manufacturing) enterprises having investment in plant and machinery up to Rs. 5 lakh and micro (service ) enterprises having investment in  equipment up to Rs. 2 lakh;

(b) 20 per cent of the total advances to small enterprises sector should go to micro (manufacturing) enterprises with investment in plant and machinery above Rs. 5 lakh and up to Rs. 25 lakh, and micro (service) enterprises with investment in equipment above Rs. 2 lakh and up to Rs. 10 lakh. (Thus 60 per cent of small enterprises advances should go to the micro enterprises)

3. Deposit by Foreign Banks with SIDBI towards shortfall in priority sector lending

3.1 The foreign banks having shortfall in lending to stipulated priority sector targets /sub-targets will be required to contribute to Small Enterprises Development Fund (SEDF) to be set up by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), or for such other purpose as may be stipulated by Reserve bank of India.

3.2 For the purpose of such allocation, the achievement level of priority sector lending as on the last reporting Friday of March of the immediately preceding financial year will be taken into account.

3.3 The corpus of SEDF shall be decided by Reserve Bank of India on a year-to-year basis. The tenor of the deposits shall be for a period of three years or as decided by Reserve Bank from time to time. Fifty percent of the corpus shall be contributed by foreign banks having shortfall in lending to priority sector target of 32 per cent of ANBC or credit equivalent amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher, on a pro-rata basis. The balance fifty per cent of the corpus shall be contributed by foreign banks having aggregate shortfall in lending to Small Enterprises sector and export sector of 10 per cent and 12 per cent respectively, of ANBC or credit equivalent amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher, on a pro-rata basis. The contribution required to be made by foreign banks would, however, not be more than the amount of shortfall in priority sector lending target/sub-target of the foreign banks.

3.4 The concerned foreign banks will be called upon by SIDBI/or such other institution as may be decided by Reserve Bank, as and when funds are required by them, after giving one month's notice.

3.5 The interest rates on foreign banks' contribution, period of deposits, etc. shall be fixed by Reserve Bank of India from time to time.

3.6 Non-achievement of priority sector targets and sub-targets will be taken into account while granting regulatory clearances / approvals for various purposes.

[ANBC or credit equivalent of Off-Balance Sheet Exposures (as defined by Department of Banking Operations and Development of Reserve Bank of India from time to time) will be computed with reference to the outstanding as on March 31 of the previous year. For this purpose, outstanding FCNR (B) and NRNR deposits balances will no longer be deducted for computation of ANBC for priority sector lending purposes For the purpose of priority sector lending, ANBC denotes NBC plus investments made by banks in non-SLR bonds held in HTM category. Investments made by banks in the Recapitalisation Bonds floated by Government of India will not be taken into account for the purpose of calculation of ANBC. Existing investments, as on the date of circular RPCD.No.Plan. BC.84/04.09.01/2006-07 dated April 30, 2007, made by banks in non-SLR bonds held in HTM category will not be taken into account for calculation of ANBC, up to March 31, 2010. However, fresh. investments by banks in non-SLR bonds held in HTM category will be taken into account for the purpose. Deposits placed with NABARD/SIDBI, as the case may be, in lieu of non-achievement of priority sector lending targets/sub-targets, though shown under Schedule 8 –'Investments' in the Balance Sheet at item I (vi)- 'Others', will not be treated as investment in non-SLR bonds held under HTM category. For the purpose of calculation of credit equivalent of off-balance sheet exposures, banks may use current exposure method. Inter-bank exposures will not be taken into account for the purpose of priority sector lending targets/sub-targets.]

SECTION IV

Common guidelines / Instructions for Lending to Small Enterprises Sector

1. Disposal of Applications

All loan applications for MSE units upto a credit limit of Rs. 25000/- should be disposed of within 2 weeks and those upto Rs. 5 lakh within 4 weeks provided , the loan applications are complete in all respects and accompanied by a " check list".

2. Collateral

The exemption limit for all MSME borrowal accounts for obtention of collateral security (both manufacturing or production and providing or rendering of services) is Rs 5 lakh. Banks may on the basis of good track record and financial position of the MSME units, increase the limit of dispensation of collateral requirement for loans up to Rs.25 lakh (with the approval of the appropriate authority). Instructions were reiterated to banks to extend collateral-free loans upto Rs. 5 lakh to all new loans to the MSE sector (both manufacturing and service enterprises) including those units financed under the Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme of KVIC.

3. Composite loan

A composite loan limit of Rs.1crore can be sanctioned by banks to enable the MSME entrepreneurs to avail of their working capital and term loan requirement through Single Window.

4. Specialised SME branches

Public sector banks have been advised to open at least one Specialised branch in each district. Further, banks have been permitted to categorise their SME general banking branches having 60% or more of their advances to SME sector in order to encourage them to open more specialised SME branches for providing better service to this sector as a whole. As per the policy package announced by the Government of India for stepping up credit to SME sector, the public sector banks will ensure specialized SME branches in identified clusters/centres with preponderance of small enterprises to enable the entrepreneurs to have easy access to the bank credit and to equip bank personnel to develop requisite expertise. The existing specialised SSI branches may be also be re designated as SME branches. Though their core competence will be utilized for extending finance and other services to SME sector, they will have operational flexibility to extend finance/render other services to other sectors/borrowers

5.  Delayed Payment

Under the Amendment Act, 1998 of Interest on Delayed Payment to Small Scale and Ancillary Industrial Undertakings, penal provisions have been incorporated to take care of delayed payments to MSME units which inter-alia stipulates

a) agreement between seller and buyer shall not exceed more than 120 days

b) payment of interest by the buyers at the rate of one and a half times the prime lending rate (PLR) of SBI for any delay beyond the agreed period not exceeding 120 days.  Further, banks have been advised to fix sub-limits within the overall working capital limits to the large borrowers specifically for meeting the payment obligation in respect of purchases from SSI.

After the enactment of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED), Act 2006, the existing provisions of the Interest on Delayed Payment Act, 1998 to Small Scale and Ancillary Industrial Undertakings, have been strengthened as under:

(i) In case the buyer to make payment on or before the date agreed on between him and the supplier in writing or, in case of no agreement before the appointed day. The agreement between seller and buyer shall not exceed more than 45 days.

(ii) In case the buyer fails to make payment of the amount to the supplier, he shall be liable to pay compound interest with monthly rests to the supplier on the amount from the appointed day or, on the date agreed on, at three times of the Bank Rate notified by Reserve Bank.

(iii) For any goods supplied or services rendered by the supplier, the buyer shall be liable to pay the interest as advised at (ii) above.

(iv) In case of dispute with regard to any amount due, a reference shall be made to the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council, constituted by the respective State Government.

6. Guidelines on rehabilitation of sick SSI units (based on Kohli Working Group recommendations)

As per the definition, a unit is considered as sick when any of the borrowal account of the unit remains substandard for more than 6 months or there is erosion in the net worth due to accumulated cash losses to the extent of 50% of its net worth during the previous accounting year and the unit has been in commercial production for at least two years.The criteria will enable banks to detect sickness at an early stage and facilitate corrective action for revival of the unit. As per the guidelines, the rehabilitation package should be fully implemented within six months from the date the unit is declared as potentially viable / viable .During this six months period of identifying and implementing rehabilitation package banks/FIs are required to do “holding operation” which will allow the sick unit to draw funds from the cash credit account at least to the extent of deposit of sale proceeds

Following are broad parameters for grant of relief and concessions for revival of potentially viable sick SSI units:

(i) Interest on Working Capital - Interest 1.5% below the prevailing fixed/ prime lending rate, wherever applicable

(ii) Funded Interest Term Loan - Interest Free

(iii) Working Capital Term Loan - Interest to be charged 1.5% below the prevailing fixed / prime lending rate,wherever applicable

(iv) Term Loan - Concessions in the interest to be given not more than 2 % (not more than 3 % in the case of tiny / decentralised sector units) below the document rate.

(v) Contingency Loan Assistance The Concessional rate allowed for Working Capital  Assistance

A circular was issued to all scheduled commercial banks vide RPCD.No. PLNFS.BC.57/06.04.01/2001-02 dated January 16, 2002 thereby advising implementation of the Kohli Committee Recommendations.

7.State Level Inter Institutional Committee

In order to deal with the problems of co-ordination for rehabilitation of sick micro and small units, State Level Inter-Institutional Committees (SLIICs) have been set up in all the States.The meetings of these Committees are convened by Regional Offices of RBI and presided over by the Secretary, Industry of the concerned State Government.It provides a useful forum for adequate interfacing between the State Government Officials and State Level Institutions on the one side and the term lending institutions and banks on the other.It closely monitors timely sanction of working capital to units which have been provided term loans by SFCs, implementation of special schemes such as Margin Money Scheme of State Government, National Equity Fund Scheme of SIDBI, and reviews general problems faced by industries and sickness in MSE sector based on the data furnished by banks.  Among others, the representatives of the local state level MSE associations are invited to the meetings of SLIIC which are held quarterly. A sub-committee of SLIIC looks into the problems of individual sick MSE unit and submits its recommendations to the forum of SLIIC for consideration.

8. Empowered Committee on MSMEs

As part of the announcement made by the Union Finance Minister, at the Regional Offices of Reserve Bank of India, Empowered Committees on MSMEs have been constituted under the Chairmanship of the Regional Directors with the representatives of SLBC Convenor, senior level officers from two banks having predominant share in MSME financing in the state, representative of SIDBI Regional Office, the Director of Industries of the State Government, one or two senior level representatives from the MSME/SSI Associations in the state, and a senior level officer from SFC/SIDC as members. The Committee will meet periodically and review the progress in MSME financing as also rehabilitation of sick Micro, Small and Medium units. It will also coordinate with other banks/financial institutions and the state government in removing bottlenecks, if any, to ensure smooth flow of credit to the sector. The committees may decide the need to have similar committees at cluster/district levels.

9. Debt Restructuring Mechanism for SMEs

i) As part of announcement made by the Hon'ble Finance Minister for stepping up credit to small and medium enterprises, a debt restructuring mechanism for units in SME sector has been formulated by Department of Banking Operations & Development of Reserve Bank of India and advised all commercial banks vide circular DBOD. BP. BC. No. 34 / 21.04.132/ 2005-06 dated September 8, 2005. These detailed guidelines have been issued to ensure restructuring of debt of all eligible small and medium enterprises. These guidelines would be applicable to the following entities, which are viable or potentially viable:

a) All non-corporate SMEs irrespective of the level of dues to banks.

b) All corporate SMEs, which are enjoying banking facilities from a single bank, irrespective of the level of dues to the bank.

c) All corporate SMEs, which have funded and non-funded outstanding up to Rs.10 crore under multiple/ consortium banking arrangement.

d) Accounts involving wilful default, fraud and malfeasance will not be eligible for restructuring under these guidelines.

e) Accounts classified by banks as “Loss Assets” will not be eligible for restructuring.

For all corporate including SMEs, which have funded and non-funded outstanding of Rs.10 crore and above, Department of Banking Operations & Development has issued separate guidelines on Corporate Debt Restructuring Mechanism vide circular DBOD. No.BP. BC.45/ 21.04. 132/2005-06 dated November 10, 2005.

ii. In the light of the recommendations of the Working Group on Rehabilitation of Sick MSEs (Chairman: Dr. K.C. Chakrabarty), all commercial banks were advised vide our circular ref. RPCD. SME & NFS.BC.No. 102/06.04.01/ 2008-09 dated May 4, 2009 to

a) put in place loan policies governing extension of credit facilities, Restructuring/Rehabilitation policy for revival of potentially viable sick units/enterprises and  non- discretionary One Time Settlement scheme for recovery of non-performing loans for the MSE sector, with the approval of the Board of Directors and

b) implement recommendations with regard to timely and adequate flow of credit to the MSE sector.

10. Cluster Approach

i)  60 clusters have been identified by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India for focused development of Small Enterprises sector. All SLBC Convenor banks have been advised to incorporate in their Annual Credit Plans, the credit requirement in the clusters identified by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India.

As per Ganguly Committee recommendations banks have been advised that a full-service approach to cater to the diverse needs of the MSE sector may be achieved through extending banking services to recognized MSE clusters by adopting a 4-C approach  namely, Customer focus, Cost control, Cross sell and Contain risk. A cluster  based approach  to lending may be more beneficial:

a) in dealing with well-defined and recognized groups;

b) availability of appropriate information for risk assessment and

c) monitoring by the lending institutions.

Clusters may be identified based on factors such as trade record, competitiveness and growth prospects and/or other cluster specific data.

ii) As per announcement made by the Governor in paragraph 157 of the Annual Policy Statement 2007-08, all SLBC Convenor banks have been advised vide letter RPCD.PLNFS.No. 10416/06.02.31/ 2006-07 dated May 8, 2007 to review their institutional arrangements for delivering credit to the MSME sector, especially in 388 clusters identified by United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) spread over 21 states in various parts of the country. A list of SME clusters as identified by UNIDO has been furnished in Annex III.

iii) The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has approved a list of clusters under the Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) and Micro and Small Enterprises Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP) located in 121 Minority Concentration Districts. Accordingly, appropriate measures have been taken to improve the credit flow to the identified clusters of micro and small entrepreneurs from the Minorities Communities residing in the minority concentrated districts of the country.

11 Government of India, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has conveyed their approval for continuation of the Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme ( CLSS) for Technology Upgradation of Micro and Small Enterprises from X Plan to XI Plan ( 2007-12) subject  to the following terms and conditions:

(i) Ceiling on the loan under the scheme is Rs. 1 crore.

(ii) The rate of subsidy is 15% for all units of micro and small enterprises up to loan ceiling at Sr. No. (i) above.

(iii) Calculation of admissible subsidy will be done with reference to the purchase price of plant and machinery instead of term loan disbursed to the beneficiary unit.

(iv) SIDBI and NABARD will continue to be implementing agencies of the scheme.

12. Committees on flow of Credit to MSE sector

12.1 Report of the Committee to Examine the Adequacy of Institutional Credit to SSI Sector and Related Aspects ( Nayak Comm -ittee)

The Committee was constituted by Reserve Bank of India in December 1991 under the Chairmanship of Shri P. R. Nayak, the then Deputy Governor to examine the issues confronting SSIs in the matter of obtaining finance.   The Committee submitted its report in 1992.  All the major recommendations of the Committee have been accepted and the banks have been inter-alia advised to:

i) give preference to village industries, tiny industries and other small scale units in that order, while meeting the credit requirements of the small scale sector;

ii) grant working capital credit limits to SSI units computed  on the basis of minimum 20% of their estimated annual turnover whose credit limit in individual cases is upto Rs.2 crore [ since raised to Rs.5 crore ];

iii) prepare annual credit budget on the `bottom-up’ basis to ensure that the legitimate requirements of SSI sector are met in full;

iv) extend ‘Single Window Scheme’ of SIDBI to all districts to meet the financial requirements (both working capital and term loan) of SSIs;

v) ensure that there should not be any delay in sanctioning and disbursal of credit.  In case of rejection/curtailment of credit limit of the loan proposal, a reference to higher authorities should be made;

vi) not to insist on compulsory deposit as a `quid pro-quo’ for sanctioning the credit;

vii) open specialised SSI bank branches or convert those branches which have a fairly large number of SSI borrowal accounts, into specialised SSI branches;

viii) identify sick SSI units and take urgent action to put them on nursing programmes;

ix) standardise loan application forms for SSI borrowers; and

x) impart training to staff working at specialised branches to bring about attitudinal change in them.

A circular was issued to all scheduled commercial banks vide RPCD. PLNFS/ BC. No. 61/06.0262/ 2000-01 dated March 2, 2001 thereby advising implementation of the Nayak Committee Recommendations.

12.2 Report of the High Level Committee on Credit to SSI (Kapur Committee)

Reserve Bank of India had appointed a one-man High Level Committee headed by Shri S.L.Kapur, (IAS, Retd.), Former Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of Industry to suggest measures for improving the delivery system and simplification of procedures for credit to SSI sector.The Committee made 126 recommendations covering wide range of areas pertaining to financing of SSI sector. These recommendations have been examined by the RBI and it has been decided to accept 88 recommendations which include the following important recommendations:

i) Delegation of more powers to branch managers to grant ad-hoc limits;

ii) Simplification of application forms;

iii) Freedom to banks to decide their own norms for assessment of credit requirements;

iv) Opening of more specialised SSI branches;

v) Enhancement in the limit for composite loans to Rs. 5 lakh.(since enhanced to Rs.1 crore);

vi) Strengthening the recovery mechanism;

vi) Banks to pay more attention to the backward states;

viii) Special programmes for training branch managers for appraising small projects;

ix) Banks to make customers grievance machinery more transparent and simplify the procedures for handling complaints and monitoring thereof.

A circular was issued to all scheduled commercial banks vide RPCD.No. PLNFS.BC.22/06.02.31/98-99 dated August 28, 1998 thereby advising implementation of the Kapur Committee Recommendations.

12.3 Report of the Working Group on Flow of Credit to SSI Sector (Ganguly  Committee)

As per the announcement made by the Governor, Reserve Bank of India, in the Mid-Term Review of the Monetary and Credit Policy 2003-2004, a “Working Group on Flow of Credit to SSI sector” was constituted under the Chairmanship of Dr.A.S.Ganguly.

The Committee made 31 recommendations covering wide range of areas pertaining to financing of SSI sector. The recommendations pertaining to RBI and banks have been examined and RBI has accepted 8 recommendations so far and commended to banks for implementation vide circular RPCD.PLNFS.BC.28/06.02.31(WG)/ 2004-05 dated September 4, 2004 which are as under:

i) adoption of cluster based approach for financing MSME sector;

ii) sponsoring specific projects as well as widely publicising successful working models of NGOs by Lead Banks which service small and tiny industries and   individual entrepreneurs;

iii) sanctioning of higher working capital limits by banks operating in the North East region to  SSIs, based on their commercial judgement due to the peculiar situation of hilly terrain and frequent floods causing hindrance in the transportation system;

iv) exploring new instruments by banks for promoting rural industry and to improve the flow of credit to rural artisans, rural industries and rural entrepreneurs, and

v) revision of tenure as also interest rate structure of deposits kept by foreign banks with SIDBI for their shortfall in priority sector lending.

13. (i) Policy Package for Stepping up Credit to Small and Medium Enterprises- Announcements made by the Union Finance Minister on August 10, 2005

The Hon'ble Finance Minister, Government of India had announced on August 10, 2005, a Policy Package for stepping up credit flow to Small and Medium enterprises. Some of the salient features of the policy package are as under:

• Definition of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

• Fixing of self-targets for financing to SME sector by banks

• Measures to rationalize the cost of loans to SME sector

• Measures to increase the outreach of formal credit to the SME sector

• Cluster based approach for financing SME sector

• Constitution of Empowered Committees for SMEs in the Regional Offices of Reserve Bank

• Steps to rationalize the cost of loans to SME sector by adopting a transparent rating system with cost of credit being linked to the credit rating of enterprise.

• Banks to consider taking advantage of Credit Appraisal & Rating Tool (CART), Risk Assessment Model (RAM) and the comprehensive rating model for risk assessment of SME proposals, developed by SIDBI for reduction of their transaction costs.

• Banks to consider the ratings of MSE units carried out through reputed credit rating agencies under the Credit Rating Scheme introduced by National Small Industries Corporation.

• Wider dissemination and easy accessibility of the policy guidelines formulated by Boards of banks as well as instructions /guidelines issued by Reserve Bank by displaying them on the respective banks’ web sites as well as web site of SIDBI and also prominently displaying them at the bank branches.

(ii) Major Instructions issued to Public Sector banks subsequent to the policy announcements

On the basis of the Policy Package as announced by the Union Finance Minister, some of the major instructions issued by Reserve Bank to all public sector banks were as under:

• Public sector banks were advised to fix their own targets for funding SMEs in order to achieve a minimum 20% year on year growth in credit to SMEs.The objective is to double the flow of credit from Rs. 67,600 crore in 2004-05 to Rs. 135,200 crore to the SME sector by 2009-10, i.e. within a period of 5 years.

• Public sector banks were advised to follow a transparent rating system with cost of credit being linked to the credit rating of the enterprise.

• All banks, including Regional Rural banks may make concerted efforts to provide credit cover on an average to at least 5 new small/ medium enterprises at each of their semi-urban/ urban branches per year.

• The banks may ensure specialized SME branches in identified clusters/ centres with preponderance of small Enterprises to enable the entrepreneurs to have easy access to the bank credit.

(The circulars issued by Reserve Bank in this regard are vide  RPCD.PLNFS. BC.No.31/ 06.02.31/200506 dated August 19, 2005 and RPCD .PLNFS. BC.No.35/ 06.02.31 / 2005 -06 dated August 25, 2005)) .

14. Banking Codes and Standard Board of India (BCSBI)

The Banking Codes and Standard Board of India (BCSBI) has formulated a Code of Bank's Commitment to Micro and Small Enterprises. This is a voluntary Code, which sets minimum standards of banking practices for banks to follow when they are dealing with Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) as defined in the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006. It provides protection to MSE and explains how banks are expected to deal with MSE for their day to-day operations and in times of financial difficulty.

The Code does not replace or supersede regulatory or supervisory instructions issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and  banks will comply with such instructions /directions issued by the RBI from time to time.

14.1 Objectives of the BCSBI Code

The Code has been developed to

a. Give a positive thrust to the MSE sector by providing easy access to efficient banking services.

b. Promote good and fair banking practices by setting minimum standards in dealing with MSE.

c. Increase transparency so that a better understanding of what can reasonably expected of the services.

d. Improve understanding of business through effective communication.

e. Encourage market forces, through competition, to achieve higher operating standards.

f. Promote a fair and cordial relationship between MSE and banks and also ensure timely and quick response to banking needs.

g. Foster confidence in the banking system.

The complete text of the Code is available at the BCSBI's website (ww.bcsbi.org.in)

Annex I

MINISTRY OF SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES

NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, the 5th October, 2006

S.O. 1722(E) – In  exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of 2006) herein referred to as the said Act, the Central Government specifies the following items, the cost of which shall be excluded while calculating the investment in plant and machinery in the case of the enterprises mentioned in Section 7(1)(a) of the said Act, namely:

(i) equipment such as tools, jigs, dyes, moulds and spare parts for maintenance and the cost of consumables stores;
(ii) installation of plant and machinery;
(iii) research and development equipment and pollution controlled equipment
(iv) power generation set and extra transformer installed by the enterprise as per regulations of the State Electricity Board;
(v) bank charges and service charges paid to the National Small Industries Corporation or the State Small Industries Corporation;
(vi) procurement or installation of cables, wiring, bus bars, electrical control panels (not mounded on individual machines), oil circuit breakers or miniature circuit breakers which are necessarily to be used for providing electrical power to the plant and machinery or for safety measures;
(vii) gas producers plants;
(viii) transportation charges ( excluding sales-tax or value added tax and excise duty) for indigenous machinery from the place of the manufacture to the site of the enterprise;
(ix) charges paid for technical know-how for erection of plant and machinery;
(x) such storage tanks which store raw material and finished produces and are not linked with the manufacturing process; and
(xi) fire fighting equipment.

2. While calculating the investment in plant and machinery refer to paragraph 1, the original price thereof, irrespective of whether the plant and machinery are new or second handed, shall be taken into account provided that in the case of imported machinery, the following shall be included in calculating the value, namely;

(i) Import duty (excluding miscellaneous expenses such as transportation from the port to the site of the factory, demurrage paid at the port);

(ii) Shipping charges;
(iii) Customs clearance charges; and
(iv Sales tax or value added tax.

(F.No.4(1)/2006-MSME- Policy)
JAWHAR SIRCAR, Addl. Secy.

Annex II

LIST OF SME CLUSTERS  COVERED BY EXISTING
SIDBI BRANCHES

Master Circular
MSE SECTOR LENDING

List of Circulars consolidated by the Master Circular