New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS) Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said that public sector banks (PSBs) have emerged as strong and competitive institutions, standing shoulder to shoulder with private and foreign banks in supporting India’s growth.

Addressing the MSME Banking Excellence Awards here, Goyal highlighted the banking system’s role in extending timely, adequate credit to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), according to an official statement.

The minister noted that MSME credit has grown at a compound annual growth rate of about 14 per cent in recent years and said the sector would be a major beneficiary of recent free trade agreements with several countries.

Goyal called on stakeholders to collaborate in rapidly realising opportunities from FTAs and to aim at doubling, tripling and even quadrupling bilateral trade in goods and services, the statement from Ministry of Commerce and Industry said.

Recalling initiatives to ease credit access, Goyal cited the Mudra loan scheme and pandemic credit guarantee measures that removed collateral requirements, highlighting that nearly 70 per cent of Mudra loans reached women entrepreneurs.

He referred to the PM SVANidhi scheme, where small loans of Rs 10,000 were later enhanced to Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000 based on repayment performance, helping street vendors avoid exploitative moneylenders.

The minister linked National Mathematics Day, commemorating Srinivasa Ramanujan’s birth anniversary on Tuesday, to bankers’ role in managing numbers that translate into economic opportunity for MSMEs.

The Minister noted that globally, India is viewed as an economy to reach $30–35 trillion by 2047, presenting an eight-fold growth opportunity. He pointed out that banks recorded profits of around Rs 3 lakh crore last year, demonstrating their capacity to lend to honest borrowers.

He also cited “the credit guarantee measures introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, under which the government became the guarantor for MSME loans without additional collateral.”

Goyal urged banks to lend liberally and responsibly, speed up and increase transparency of loan approvals and provide capital and guidance to MSMEs, helping them leverage government schemes.

–IANS

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