Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has strengthened its footprint in the region with the opening of a new branch office to serve micro, small and medium enterprises, the bank said on Saturday.

SIDBI with support from the Reserve Bank of India also set up a SIDBI Cluster Development Fund with a view to supporting the creation of hard infrastructure for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the clusters. 

Under this programme, financial support is extended in the form of term loans at concessional rates to the state governments for covering the projects involved in the development of the MSME eco-system, SIDBI chairman and managing director Sivasubramanian Ramann said after the inauguration of the new office.

SIDBI has taken new initiatives to increase the flow of credit to MSMEs, he said and added the bank has recently launched a fully automated straight-through process to sanction loans up to Rs 50 lakh online within a couple of hours.

The Hosur branch would continue to work closely with MSMEs, industry associations and all the stakeholders to provide focused financial support to MSMEs located in the district and neighboring areas, he said in a press release.

During the inaugural, sanction letters were issued to micro, small and medium enterprise customers for term loans ranging from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 3 crore for the purchase of plant and machinery, the release said.