Rs 20 cr loans cleared under MSMEs' venture capital fund in Bengal

About Rs 20 crore of loans were so far approved under the Rs 200 crore venture capital fund for micro, small, medium enterprises (MSMEs) in West Bengal, an official said on Friday.

"Three units have so far been assisted under the venture capital fund created for MSMEs and a total of Rs 20 crore of loans is approved so far," said Kailash Chand Vaid, General Manager of Kolkata Regional Office of Small Industries Development Bank of India's (SIDBI).

"Of three units, two units have received first round of disbursements," he said on the sidelines of an event organised by Merchants' Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

According to Vaid, the venture capital fund, which is a "joint venture" between West Bengal government and SIDBI, was created in November 2015 with a corpus of Rs 200 crore.

A maximum of Rs 9 crore of loans can be approved for an unit under the venture capital fund, he said.

Asked about the slow pace of approvals, he said: "It takes time to approve loans."

Vaid also said that banks would be expected to become liberal in sanctioning collateral free larger size loans.