Recalling the time of the pandemic and how it impacted the sector, the minister said that many MSMEs had shut down at that time and it had severely affected their bottom lines.
Speaking at ET MSME Awards 2022 held on March 3 in the capital, Verma elaborated further on the initiatives taken by the government to give the sector a leg up. “Under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), the cost for financial assistance has increased from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh for new manufacturing units and from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh for new service units. This will help to build businesses as well as employ people,” he said.
Delving on the contribution of the MSME sector to the economy, the minister said that MSMEs have an integral role to play. “There are 6.3 crore MSMEs in the country and the sector employs 11 crore people. They have a 1/3rd contribution to India’s GDP and 48% of exports are via this sector,” he said.
Outlining how Budget 2023 focused on the well-being of such enterprises, Verma alluded to the steps announced by FM Nirmala Sitharaman in making this a reality. He said the revamped credit guarantee scheme worth Rs 9,000 crore for MSMEs would infuse more liquidity into the system. “This will enable additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of Rs 2 lakh crore.”
Besides this, he said, more relief was given to MSMEs who had failed to execute contracts during the virus outbreak. “95% of the amount will be returned to them by the government — this was also announced in the Budget this year,” he said.
The ET MSME Awards celebrated the success and resilience of the sector by recognising the exceptional performance of such enterprises in various categories. Attended by a host of dignitaries, industry professionals and government officials, it demonstrated the strength of a sector often referred to as the backbone of the economy. Award categories such as Indian MSME of the Year, India’s Top Performing MSME, India’s Top Innovative MSME and India’s Fastest Growing MSME were among the 26 awards that were presented at the ceremony.
