Modi govt’s MSME grievance resolution portal sees uptick in cases redressed; this many resolved so far

Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: The national grievance resolution portal for MSMEs — Champions — launched by PM Modi in May this year has redressed 18,723 grievances as on September 9, 2020, MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on the first day of monsoon session of Parliament. This showed a jump of 16.8 per cent in the number of complaints resolved from 16,019 in May. “As per the eight-day-old data (end of May 2020) from the portal, which was launched on May 9, 20,461 grievances were received out of which 16,019 grievances have been resolved,” Gadkari had said in a webinar with the members of the Institute of the Company Secretaries of India in June.

Champions, which stood for Creation and Harmonious Application of Modern Processes for Increasing the Output and National Strength to register their grievances around finance, raw materials, labour, regulatory permissions etc. acts as a one-stop-shop for MSMEs. According to the portal, apart from registering their grievances, MSMEs can offer suggestions and ideas to improve their operations to the government, check government schemes offered to MSMEs, register as an MSME, file application for delayed payments, explore Startup India scheme and benefits and links to other resources.

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“Over a period of time, it will create an artificial intelligence kind of a thing where we would know, for example, in which state MSMEs face more problems related to credit and against which institution,” Rajiv Chawla, Chairman at the MSME association — IamSMEofIndia had told Financial Express Online.

The portal directs MSME complaints subject-wise to respective branch/bureau/office heads under the MSME Ministry to attend them within three days. MSME Secretary AK Sharma had said while launching its trial version in May that the grievance “should not remain inconclusive after seven days” of filing. On the other hand, in cases pertaining to unresolved complaints, the “top leadership of the MSME Ministry” will “pro-actively take (them) up,” Sharma had said.