The Finance Ministry on Thursday said banks have sanctioned loans of about Rs 1.77 lakh crore to 44.2 lakh business units under the Rs 3-lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme for the MSME sector reeling under the slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. However, disbursement against the sanctioned amount stood at Rs 1,25,425 crore to 25.74 lakh MSME units till September 21. The scheme is the biggest fiscal component of the Rs 20-lakh crore Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in May to mitigate the distress caused by the lockdown due to COVID-19 by providing credit to different sectors, especially micro, small and medium enterprises. The latest numbers on ECLGS, as released by the Finance Ministry, comprise disbursements by all 12 public sector banks (PSBs), 24 private sector banks and 31 non-banking financial companies .”As of 21 Sept 2020, the total amount sanctioned under the 100% Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme by #PSBs and private banks to #MSMEs and individuals stands at Rs 1,77,353 crore, of which Rs 1,25,425 crore has already been disbursed,” the finance minister said in a tweet.