RAS question
Total equity support approved for SIDBI in January 2026?
Correct answer: (B) ₹5,000 crore.
The Union Cabinet approved ₹5,000 crore in equity support for the Small Industries Development Bank of India on 21 January 2026.
Explanation
The answer is ₹5,000 crore because the Cabinet-approved support was an equity infusion into the Small Industries Development Bank of India, not a loan amount or a general MSME allocation. The PIB release states that the Department of Financial Services will infuse this ₹5,000 crore in three tranches: ₹3,000 crore in Financial Year 2025-26, followed by ₹1,000 crore each in Financial Years 2026-27 and 2027-28. The rationale was capital strength. SIDBI’s risk-weighted assets were expected to rise as it expanded directed credit, digital and digitally enabled collateral-free credit products, and venture debt. Additional share capital would help SIDBI maintain a healthy CRAR, protect its credit rating, raise resources at fair rates, and increase credit flow to MSMEs at competitive cost.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) ₹3,000 crore was only the first tranche planned for Financial Year 2025-26, not the total equity support approved for SIDBI.
- (C) ₹7,500 crore does not appear in the Cabinet approval; the cited release specifies a total equity infusion of ₹5,000 crore.
- (D) ₹10,000 crore overstates the approval, as the PIB release fixes the total support at ₹5,000 crore across three tranches.
Concept
This tests government financial institutions and MSME credit policy, a recurring RAS economy theme because such Cabinet approvals link public finance, institutional credit and development-sector outcomes. It also checks whether aspirants can distinguish a total approved support figure from its year-wise tranche schedule.