The Government has highlighted several initiatives undertaken over the past five years to improve credit access for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), including the expansion of SIDBI's lending network and the launch of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 5.0.

To enhance its outreach, SIDBI opened 71 new branches across the country between April 2024 and July 2026. As of March 31, 2026, the bank's direct credit outstanding portfolio stood at Rs 51,687 crore, reflecting a 36.8% year-on-year growth, while its refinance portfolio rose to Rs 4,50,571 crore, up 16.9% from the previous year.

SIDBI has also introduced co-lending partnerships with NBFCs and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) to improve credit availability for underserved MSMEs. In addition, it launched the Prayaas Scheme to provide affordable finance to informal micro-enterprises, particularly women entrepreneurs, and introduced the GST Sahay App to facilitate invoice-based digital lending for small businesses.

The government also launched ECLGS 5.0 in May 2026, under which eligible MSMEs can avail additional credit of up to 20% of their peak fund-based working capital outstanding during the fourth quarter of FY26. The scheme offers 100% guarantee coverage to lending institutions for MSME loans, while scheduled passenger airlines receive 90% guarantee coverage.

The government expects ECLGS 5.0 to facilitate an additional Rs 2.55 lakh crore in credit to MSMEs, non-MSMEs and scheduled passenger airlines.

The information was shared by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.