Over Rs. 75,000 crore paid to MSME vendors by Government Ministries between June to October 2021

The Atmanirbhar Bharat Package aims to strengthen the Indian economy and increase its competitiveness in the global market, with the underlying goal of self-reliance, by achieving its unique goal of providing financial cushion to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through collateral-free loans and encouraging entrepreneurs to produce as much goods and services as possible within the country. In a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha today, Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary stated as much.

According to the Minister, dues of Rs. 75,471.78 crore were paid to MSME vendors by Government Ministries/ Departments/ CPSUs between 1st June 2020 and 31st October 2021.

More specifically, the Minister highlighted that the following programmes have been introduced under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Package to boost the growth of the MSME sector: –

• In May 2020, an Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) was launched. ECLGS 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 were announced on 26.11.2020, 31.03.2021, and 31.5.2021, respectively, to broaden its scope and make it more appealing. The Scheme’s validity has been extended till March 31, 2022, or until guarantees in the amount of Rs.4.5 lakh crore are provided, whichever comes first. ANNEXURE-I contains a statement listing the scheme’s beneficiaries by state.
• On June 1, 2020, a Rs 20,000 crore Credit Guarantee Scheme for Subordinate Debt (CGSSD) for Stressed MSMEs was started. The state-by-state guarantee coverage under CGSSD as of 02.12.2021 is shown in ANNEXURE-II.
• Self-reliance India Fund announced a Rs. 50,000 crore equity infusion in MSMES through Fund of Funds (FoF) with a corpus of Rs. 10,000 crores, with the balance Rs. 40,000 crore leveraged through Private Equity/Venture Capital Funds.
• Definition of a micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (MSMEs) has been changed based on investment limits and turnover size.
• Amendment to General Financial Rules (GFRs 2017) Rule 161(iv) to prohibit Global Tender Enquiry for tenders up to Rs.200 crores subject to specific criteria.
• Other interventions viz. launching of a new portal of KVIC (www.ekhadiindia.com), upgrading the existing running portal of NSIC, adding a new component for virtual trade fair under Procurement & Marketing Support (PMS) scheme to promote e-marketing, launching the online portal ‘Champions’ covering many aspects of e- governance and e-promotion of MSMEs, linking of Udyam Registration Portal with GeM Portal, a special sub-portal within SAMADHAAN portal and an online reporting system was developed for reporting the dues and monthly payments by GOI Ministries and CPSEs to the MSMEs.

The Minister further stated that the implementation of the Government‘s Schemes/Programs is assessed on a regular basis.