New Delhi, May (IANS): The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) this week reviewed the 59-minute loan scheme for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with the Finance Ministry officials and asked them to increase disbursals.

Sources said since November last year, when the scheme was launched, Rs 37,870-crore loans were disbursed till March 31.

The Finance Ministry is mulling to raise Rs 1-crore cap on 59-minute loans to Rs 3-5 crore in a gradual manner, they said.

During the current month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Finance Ministry as well as the banks will be discussing the risks and the benefits of the scheme which has already drawn a healthy response from the borrowers, and some public sector banks (PSBs) are now keen on raising the credit limit.

The 59-minute loan scheme was launched late last year for the benefit of MSMEs. It formed part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 12-point action plan for the MSMEs announced in November 2018.

Extending hassle-free loans to such units which are without any collateral has been a hit on www.psbloansin59minutes.com, as it has reduced the turnaround time for sanctioning loans from 20-25 days to 59 minutes.

It is a strategic initiative of the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIBDI)-led PSBs' consortium incubated under the aegis of the Department of Financial Services (DFS).

The majority stake is held by the SIDBI and five large PSBs -- State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank (PNB), Vijaya Bank and Indian Bank.