The Union Finance Ministry has expanded the scope of the MSME loan scheme announced in the wake of COVID-19 to include professionals like doctors, lawyers, chartered accountants and others, reported the Financial Express.

The 3-lakh crore scheme was announced by Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, in May as part of Government's 'Athmanirbhar package' to help the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

"The government has decided to relax the eligibility criteria for tapping the Rs 3-lakh-crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) to cover professionals and enable a much wider pool of businesses to benefit from it", the Financial Express said, quoting Nirmala Sitharaman.

Financial services secretary Debashish Panda said individuals such as doctors, chartered accountants, lawyers, etc, who wish to take loans for professional purposes, will also be covered under the scheme.

Last week, the Delhi High Court had dismissed a PIL seeking the inclusion of advocates under MSME scheme.