Union Minister of MSME, Shri Jitan Ram Manjhi, briefed the media on 100 days’ achievements of the Government in MSME sector

The various initiatives launched over the past 100 days are aimed at promoting growth, boosting entrepreneurship, creating employment opportunities. The achievements are reflective of the Government of India’s commitment to ensuring the sustainable growth of the MSME sector, fostering innovation, and enhancing job creation. Union Minister for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Jitan Ram Majhi, briefed the media organizations about the “100 days’ achievements of the Government in MSME sector”, in a press conference held at Udyog Bhawan, New Delhi.  Secretary, MSME, Shri S.C.L. Das and senior officers of the Ministry were also present during the briefing. The Minister informed the media that the MSME sector has continued to play a pivotal role in driving economic growth, employment, and entrepreneurship across the nation. During his address to the nation on the occasion of the 78th Independence Day on 15.08.2024, the Prime Minister emphasized the Government’s focus on and commitment towards promoting sustainability, innovation, and ease of doing business for MSME, aligning with the larger national vision of making India a global leader and highlighted the importance of MSMEs. Over the last 100 days, the Government of India has accelerated implementation of development programs and rolled out numerous initiatives to empower MSMEs and ensure their sustainable growth in line with the nation’s broader objectives. The various initiatives launched over the past 100 days are aimed at promoting growth, boosting entrepreneurship, creating employment opportunities, and ensuring that our MSMEs are better equipped to face the challenges of a dynamic global economy. Some of the key achievements over the last 100 days, covering various schemes and initiatives of the Ministry of MSME, aimed at bolstering the MSME sector, are as follows:

Formalization Drive of MSMEs:

MoUs signed with States of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh on 27th June 2024. Formalization drives, including mass awareness camps were conducted across the country in collaboration with State Governments and MSME associations to onboard MSMEs onto the Udyam Registration Platform and the Udyam Assist Platform (UAP). This initiative aims to integrate informal MSMEs into the formal economy. In this accelerated drive, the total number of MSMEs registered on Udyam/UAP has crossed 5 crores.  In comparison to a total of 1.06 crore MSME registrations in 2023, the number has now increased to 5.07 crores in 2024. With the increase in MSME registrations, this is expected to benefit approximately 21 crore persons in terms of generation of employment opportunities. Under Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Program (PMEGP), employment has been provided to more than 55 lakh people in the last 10 years. Under this scheme, many new micro enterprises have been established, and it aims to increase employment opportunities in rural and urban areas.

Setting Up Micro Enterprises Through PMEGP:

Under PMEGP (Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Program), approvals have been accorded (9^th June onwards) during the past 100 days, whereby 26,426 new micro enterprises have been established with loan disbursements of ₹3,148 crores.  This initiative is expected to benefit approximately 2.11 lakhs people in terms of generation of employment opportunities.

Promotion and Development of MSMEs in the North-Eastern Region:

Ministry of MSME has accorded approval to 12 projects for infrastructure development, including establishment of new Technology Centers and re-development of industrial estates in the North-Eastern region, including Sikkim on 26^th June, 2024. The projects aim to generate employment and boost economic growth by providing technology support and business services.  2,290 unemployed youths will benefit, with employment opportunities generated for the local economy in the North-Eastern region, including Sikkim.

Yashasvini Campaign for Women Entrepreneurs:

The Ministry of MSME, launched the Yashasvini Campaign on 27th June 2024, on the Udyami Bharat Day, coinciding with International MSME Day, aimed at promoting women-led development through entrepreneurship. The initiative adopts a whole-of-Government approach, with support from various Ministries, such as, Rural Development, Tribal Affairs, Women and Child Development, and Skill Development, as well as State Governments in collaboration with the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) of NITI Aayog. A notable aspect of Yashasvini is the public-private partnership fostered through Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), which ensures industry-level competence and focus. A series of events will be conducted in campaign mode to raise awareness of government schemes and promote formalization, registration, and capacity-building for women entrepreneurs. The initiative provides support in six key areas: access to finance, training, market linkages, mentorship, compliance, and legal/business support services. The first campaign, held in Jaipur on 19th July 2024, saw the participation of around 650 women entrepreneurs, leading to over 4,000 Udyam and UAP registrations. A second campaign, held as part of the PM Vishwakarma Conclave in Ranchi on 11th September 2024, witnessed participation from 200 women entrepreneurs and SHGs. To hold 17 more such campaigns this year. To impact one lakh women. This campaign will further be scaled up in future, so that more women can get benefitted from it.

Yashasvini campaign for Women Entrepreneurs:

Special Provision for Women under CGTMSE to Enhance Access to Collateral-free Credit:

The CGTMSE Scheme (Approved by CGTMSE Board on 9^th September, 2024) will now include enhanced credit guarantees for women-owned MSMEs, with a guarantee coverage of 90%. The scheme also includes the provision for reducing the annual guarantee fee, making credit more accessible for women entrepreneurs. This is a significant step towards improving access of women entrepreneurs to collateral-free credit from banks.  27 lakh women-led MSMEs are expected to benefit from this initiative.

Launch of TEAM (Trade Enablement and Marketing) Scheme for Marketing Support:

TEAM is a new scheme launched by Ministry of MSME on 27^th June, 2024, under the RAMP Program to facilitate e-commerce engagement for MSMEs. The initiative supports MSMEs in entering digital platforms through knowledge sharing and   capacity building, with 150 workshops planned to promote digital marketing. So far, two such workshops have already been conducted at Pune and Ranchi with around 150 participants in each workshop. Digital enablement for MSMEs, benefiting 5 lakh MSMEs of which 50% will be women-owned enterprises.

Establishment of 14 New State-of-the-Art Technology Centres:

Ministry of MSME is in process of establishment of 14 new Technology Centers (TCs) at Sindhudurg (Maharashtra), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Pune (Maharashtra), Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh), Ambala (Haryana), Samba (Jammu & Kashmir), Bokaro (Jharkhand), Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), Rourkela (Odisha), Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), Rajkot (Gujarat), Kopparthy (Andhra Pradesh), with an investment of ₹2,800 crores (approved on 12^th August, 2024). These centers will be set up in the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode and will provide local MSMEs access to advanced manufacturing technologies, skill development, and business advisory services.  1,00,000 MSMEs to benefit from technology access and 3,00,000 youths to be trained in the next 5 years.

ZED 2.0 Certification Scheme for Quality Improvement:

ZED 2.0 launched by Ministry of MSME on 11^th September, 2024, promotes Zero Defect, Zero Effect manufacturing practices. Under this scheme, 5 lakh MSME will receive support, with a budget of ₹500 crores allocated to aid migration to higher levels of ZED certification at reduced cost of certification.  5 lakh MSMEs registered, with enhanced quality standards and sustainability practices.

MSME Hackathon 4.0 for Innovation:

The MSME Hackathon 4.0 (launched on 11^th September, 2024) promotes innovation and technological adoption among MSMEs, particularly for young entrepreneurs from 18 years to 35 years of age. The scheme provides financial assistance of up to ₹15 lakhs per idea, focusing on traditional trades covered under PM Vishwakarma scheme, green energy, frontier technologies, and export enhancement.  500 innovators are expected to benefit, promoting startup incubation and innovation.

Laying of Foundation Stone for Modern Technology Centre at Bokaro, Jharkhand:

The foundation stone for a Technology Centre at Bokaro was laid, on 11^th September, 2024 at Ranchi, with an investment of ₹198 crores. The centre will provide technological support, skill development, and business advisory services to 8,000 MSMEs in and around Bokaro.  22,000 youths to be trained, enhancing employability in the next 5 years.

Inauguration of Centre for Rural Enterprise Acceleration through Technology (CREATE) at Leh:

The CREATE Centre, operationalized at Leh will focus on providing support to the Pashmina Wool Processing sector and extraction of essential oils from local produce, with facilities for training and product development. The center aims to enhance local productivity and empower artisans, especially women, in an environment friendly and sustainable manner. Expected outcomes are enhanced employment opportunities and remuneration for local artisans, particularly in pashmina wool processing and bio-processing.

MoU of Co-operation and Collaboration Between Ministry of MSME and US-Small Business Association (US-SBA):

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on 13^th August, 2024, between the Ministry of MSME, Government of India and the United States Small Business Administration (US-SBA) which aims at mutual co-operation to promote MSMEs from both countries. The agreement places particular focus on transiting MSMEs in to green technology and women entrepreneurs. Sharing best practices and digitization of MSMEs are also part of the agenda. Dialogue is in progress to conduct first virtual webinar for women entrepreneurs, their capacity building, and mentorship.  Bilateral co-operation and collaboration on MSME initiatives, promoting global competitiveness and capacity building of women entrepreneurs are the expected outcomes. These achievements are reflective of the Government of India’s commitment to ensuring the sustainable growth of the MSME sector, fostering innovation and enhancing job creation.