ECGC turns 50

Mumbai: The fifth largest credit insurer in the world in terms of coverage of national exports, Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Limited (ECGC) enters its 50th year. ECGC was set up in 1957 by the central government to strengthen the export promotion drive by covering the risk of exporting on credit.

Since its inception, ECGC has strengthened India's exports by covering the risk of exporting on credit, and today, has more than 13,000 policyholders. Currently, it has 24 diverse products in its portfolio customised to suit the requirements of various kinds of exporters and banks.

Says Dr Christy Fernandez, IAS, chairman and managing director of ECGC, "This is a momentous occasion for us all. From a fledgling organisation in 1957, we have come a long way to become the fifth largest credit insurer in the world. Keeping in mind the new environment, we have undertaken a series of measures to fulfill the needs of the medium and long term exporters, the national export insurance account being one of them."

With a paid up capital of Rs 800 crore and an authorised capital of Rs 1,000 crore, ECGC has set up a separate fund with a corpus of Rs 2,000 crore called the National Export Insurance Account (NEIA).

In a tie up with the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), ECGC plans to offer its products to SMEs spread across India to assist with export credit risk insurance.