RBI Restores Cheaper Credit for Handloom Exporters.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s central bank, has restored a 2 percent interest subsidy on rupee credit to exporters of handlooms, handicrafts and carpets. The benefit is likely to help these exporters bear the slump in major traditional markets like the US and Europe.

The earlier existing interest subvention scheme expired in March this year. The Government had discontinued the scheme owing to a surge in exports from labour-intensive and small-scale industries.

The present announcement restores the scheme and the exporters will be able to avail it with retrospective effect from April 2011 and until March 31, 2012.

The RBI said that small exporters from the four sectors, viz. handloom, handicrafts, carpets, and gems and jewellery, would be entitled for cheaper bank credit, subject to a minimum interest rate of 7 percent.

The RBI has directed the banks to pass on the benefit completely to the eligible exporters.

The interest subsidy of 2 percent would also help small exporters to compete with Chinese entrepreneurs, who get loans at lower interest rates, in the international markets.

Source : fibre2fashion.com