IATO has written to the PM asking his intervention for suitable amendment to conditions imposed by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd (NCGTC) in implementation of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) which had been extended to Hospitality and Travel & Tourism sector by the government.
Ravaged by pandemic, the country’s beleaguered inbound tourism sector was offered a ray of hope by the Government by extending the scope of (ECLGS) through introduction of ECLGS 3.0 to cover business enterprises in the Hospitality and Travel & Tourism sector as well.
It was hoped that it would ease the immediate liquidity problem of the industry and give it some breathing space but all these have been belied as subsequent to ECLGS, National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd (NCGTC), issued conditions as per which the account availing this facility was not to be NPA or DPD( Days Past Due) for over 90 days as on the date of sanction or disbursement of the facility.
“Consequent to that it nullifies any benefit that may have accrued to tour operators”, says Rajiv Mehra, President, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO).
Says Mehra, “Obviously the tour operators are stressed and their accounts cannot be good and in recognition of such a situation the ECLGS was made applicable to the operators. But the condition as stipulated in NCGTC makes mockery of any benefit that may have accrued to the tour operators. As the scheme is announced to save the entities in the sector, the current NCGTC operational guidelines should be either revoked or amended suitably as operational guidelines are inconsistent with the spirit of both the ECLGS 3.0 scheme, and the RBI notification and has defeated the very purpose of the scheme.”
The sector has been struggling for the last one year and whatever hopes there were of revival have been shattered by the current wave.
In a scenario like this IATO urges immediate removal of these anomalies and release of Service Export Incentive Scheme (SEIS) as these measures would provide the sector much needed succour.
