Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government has completed nine years. Over the years, the BJP government has introduced several initiatives to reduce the compliance burden of MSMEs, help them in navigating the pandemic, and promote the ‘Make In India’ initiatives amongst small businesses. In the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking, India has jumped up from the 142nd position in 2014 to 63rd in 2019.
Here are some key schemes launched by the Modi government for the MSME sector.
Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS)
Launched during the Covid crisis as a part of the relief package, the scheme provided 100 per cent guarantee coverage to the banks and NBFCs, to encourage them to lend to MSMEs who were facing a liquidity crunch due to delayed payments and lockdowns in several markets. The emergency credit line enabled enterprises to avail of an additional 20 per cent loan on the value of existing loans outstanding with banks. According to the Ministry of Finance, 1.19 crore borrowers have benefited from guarantees amounting to Rs 3.61 lakh crore under ECLGS as on 31st January 2023.
Zed scheme (Zero Defect, Zero Effect)
The Zed scheme was introduced in the year 2016 to build the competitiveness of Indian MSMEs in the manufacturing sector. The scheme is built around creating awareness and assessment and certification of MSMEs to promote ZED-based practices on “Zero Defect, Zero Effect,” focusing on producing high-quality products sustainably.
Also, the certified MSMEs get additional benefits from other schemes such as CGTMSE. So far, as per the Zed Scheme dashboard, there are 4,995 Zed-certified MSMEs in India across different categories such as Bronze, Silver and Gold.
Also read: MSME Guide: How to start and run your business in India
RAMP
The Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) scheme is a World Bank-supported scheme launched in 2022 to strengthen governance at the centre and the state, technological upgradation and easier access to credit and finance to MSMEs. Out of the total outlay of Rs 6,062.45 crore, Rs 3,750 crore was provided by the World Bank, while the remaining corpus of Rs 2312.45 crore is to be funded by the Central government.
UDYAM
To bring more MSMEs into the formal fold, the Udyam platform was launched in July 2020 to enable MSMEs to register their enterprises with the government.
Maintained by the MSME Ministry, the platform provides paperless and free-of-cost registration facilities. In addition, the Udyam links the Goods and Services Tax Network and Central Board of Direct Taxes data, using the KYC (Know your customer), which helps in a seamless flow of data across organisations.
At present, there are more than 1.85 crore enterprises with 11.71 crore employees registered on the Udyam Platform (along with the Udyam Assist portal), out of which 1.79 crore enterprises are in the micro category.
Also Read: Odisha to launch new portal for MSMEs to apply for financial incentives online
MSME Innovative
Launched in March 2022, MSME Innovative Scheme is an amalgamation of incubation, design and intellectual property rights schemes for the Indian MSMEs. The initiative aims to promote innovation and a culture of efficiency among MSMEs. The scheme provides assistance of up to Rs 1 crore to the Intellectual Property Facilitation Center on the basis of patents achieved over the period.
As per the data provided by the MSME ministry, over seven IP Facilitation Centres had been approved, 126 patents were granted and 1,387 Trademarks were reimbursed under the ‘IPR’ component, in the first nine months of the scheme.
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