The Government of India has outlined several initiatives aimed at improving access to finance for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), according to a written reply by Minister of State for MSMEs Shobha Karandlaje in the Lok Sabha. She highlighted that stakeholder consultations remain an ongoing part of policy development.
Key initiatives include the Credit Guarantee Trust Fund for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE), jointly set up by the MSME Ministry and SIDBI, which extends collateral-free credit guarantees. The guarantee ceiling has recently been increased from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore.
Under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme, margin money subsidies of up to 35% are provided for establishing new micro enterprises, with project cost limits of Rs 50 lakh for manufacturing and Rs 20 lakh for services.
The PM Vishwakarma scheme, launched in September 2023, supports artisans and craftspeople from 18 traditional trades, offering loans of up to Rs 3 lakh with interest subvention of up to 8%.
Additionally, the Self Reliant India Fund aims to infuse Rs 50,000 crore into MSMEs through equity financing, including Rs 10,000 crore from the Centre and Rs 40,000 crore via private equity and venture capital funds.
Other supportive measures include collateral-free credit, TReDS implementation for quicker receivables, mutual credit guarantees for loans of up to Rs 100 crore for machinery procurement, and reduced timelines for credit decisions by banks.