Atmanirbhar MSMEs: Modi govt clears dues at fast pace; helps MSMEs produce more goods amid festivals

Credit and Finance for MSMEs: The micro, small, and medium enterprises of India have received Rs 21,000 crore in the last seven months as the government had pledged to clear their dues to provide relief amid the pandemic. The highest level of procurement was achieved in October, which was over Rs 5,100 crore and payment of over Rs 4,100 crore was done in the same month, said the Ministry of MSME. Further, it is expected to surpass in the first 10 days of November as the procurement of about Rs 4,700 crore and payment of about Rs 4,000 crore have already been reported.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today hailed the Ministry of MSME for the quick clearance of dues of MSMEs. As part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat package, it was stated that the MSME dues should be paid in 45 days. The statement said that the procurement by the central government agencies and PSUs from MSMEs is on the rise and has increased by nearly 2.5 times since May 2020. Similarly, the payments to MSMEs have also gone up proportionately. 

The Ministry of MSME further said that this support was important particularly in the months of September and October because, with these cash flows, the MSMEs were supposed to produce goods and services which could be sold during the festival time. The ministry had also urged the corporate sector to help the MSMEs during the festival season as the earning during festivals would sustain many MSMEs for the whole year. It is reported that the clearance of dues has helped many MSMEs and village Industries to do better business than even the previous year.

Meanwhile, the government had also introduced guarantee free loans worth Rs 3 lakh crore for MSMEs to support them to revive their businesses from the disruptions led by the lockdown. Eligible borrowers for the scheme include MSME units, business enterprises, individual loans for business purposes, and MUDRA borrowers