The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has relaxed the priority-sector lending (PSL) rules for exporters, scrapping the turnover limit for an exporter to be eligible for such loans and increasing the sanction limit per borrower, to complement the government’s efforts to boost the flow of credit and reverse a slide in outbound shipments in recent months, said a report.
Earlier, exporters with a turnover of up to Rs 100 crore each were eligible for credit under the PSL norms. With the abolition of this criterion, a larger number of exporters will benefit. Similarly, the maximum sanction limit of loan to exporters has now been raised to Rs 40 crore per borrower from Rs 25 crore earlier.
However, the cap on export credit banks can disburse as part of their priority-sector lending portfolio remains unchanged, the report added. The RBI said: “The existing guidelines for domestic scheduled commercial banks to classify ‘Incremental export credit over corresponding date of the preceding year, up to 2 per cent of ANBC (Adjusted Net Bank Credit) or Credit Equivalent Amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher’ under PSL will continue to be applicable…” There is no change in the present instructions in respect of foreign banks, said the report.
