New Delhi, Dec 8 (IANS) At least 14.6 lakh Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) accounts, of which about 98.3 per cent of the accounts were in the Micro and Small Enterprises categories, were saved from slipping into non-performing asset (NPA) classification with the help of the emergency credit line guarantee scheme (ECLGS), the Parliament was informed on Monday.

A series of measures have been undertaken by the Union government to provide adequate financial support and technology and trade support to various MSMEs, including the leather and textile sector, Minister of State for MSMEs, Shobha Karandlaje, told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question.

These include schemes such as the Prime Minister’s employment generation programme for setting up new micro enterprises in the non-farm sector by providing margin money subsidy on the bank loan, and a special credit-linked capital subsidy scheme with a provision of 25 per cent subsidy to SC/ST MSEs on institutional finance for procurement of plant and machinery or equipment, she added.

Credit guarantee scheme for collateral-free loans for micro and small enterprises with a guarantee coverage of up to Rs 10 crore, collateral-free loans up to Rs 20 lakh for informal micro enterprises, PM Vishwakarma Yojana, and Mudra Loan are the other among the schemes that have been introduced by the Union government, Karandlaje said.

Additionally, the Centre has taken a number of steps to address the issues and challenges pertaining to the MSME sector in the country.

Some of these steps are new revised criteria for defining MSMEs adopted in 2020, which have been further revised in April this year, Udyam Registration for MSMEs for ease of doing business, which is operational from July 2020, and the inclusion of retail and wholesale traders as MSMEs.

Moreover, non-tax benefits are extended for 3 years in case of an upward change in the status of MSMEs, and the Udyam Assist platform was launched in January 2023 to bring Informal micro enterprises under the formal ambit for availing the benefit under priority sector lending.

Operationalisation of the self-reliant India Fund for equity infusion into MSMEs, and the launch of Rs 5 lakh crore emergency credit line guarantee scheme (ECLGS), for businesses, including MSMEs (operational till March 2023), were other steps, the minister said.

–IANS

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