Question

Which Union Ministry launched "Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme"?

• A. Ministry of Finance
• B. Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)
• C. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
• D. Ministry of Corporate Affairs

Hint:

Be careful with target sectors versus launching ministries! Even though a scheme might specifically target MSMEs or retailers, if it involves credit lines, banking guarantees, or national financial relief policy, it is almost always structured and launched by the Ministry of Finance.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Concept: The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) was introduced as a strategic components of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan economic package. Its objective was to provide $100\%$ collateral-free, guaranteed additional funding to business enterprises, particularly Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), to mitigate acute operational cash-flow crunches caused by economic lockdowns.

Step 1:
While the scheme primarily serves as a financial lifesaver for small businesses and the MSME sector, the actual administrative and legislative roll-out, structural funding allocations, and operational sponsorship come directly from the

Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance.

Step 2:
The scheme is executed through the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC), which provides a $100\%$ guarantee cover to Member Lending Institutions (banks, financial institutions, and NBFCs) against defaults on loans extended under this program. Because it involves macro fiscal management, budgetary guarantees, and credit intervention policies across all commercial banks, the scheme falls directly within the domain of the Ministry of Finance, making option (A) correct and option (B) technically incorrect as a launching authority.