New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday said it has undertaken multiple reforms to improve ease of doing business for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), focusing on easier access to credit, simplified compliance and stronger integration with government procurement systems.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, the criteria for defining MSMEs were revised in 2020 and further updated with effect from April 1, 2025, to enable upward mobility in technology adoption, skilling and business expansion, while supporting the transition of enterprises as they scale up.
The government highlighted initiatives such as the Udyam Registration Portal and the Udyam Assist platform, aimed at formalising informal micro enterprises and enabling access to priority sector lending. Retail and wholesale traders have also been brought under the MSME framework, while non-tax benefits are being extended for three years in cases of upward reclassification.
On the credit front, the ministry said the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises has been strengthened through an additional corpus infusion of ₹9,000 crore, enabling incremental credit of up to ₹2 lakh crore at lower borrowing costs. It also cited the impact of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, under which over 14.6 lakh MSME accounts were prevented from slipping into non-performing asset status during the pandemic.
To support MSMEs in the post-Covid period, more than 60,000 claims were settled under the Vivad se Vishwas-I scheme, which provided relief through refunds of performance and bid securities and extensions in contract delivery timelines. The ministry also pointed to the MSME-SAMBANDH portal and the Government e-Marketplace as key tools to monitor and improve public procurement from MSMEs, including those owned by SC/ST and women entrepreneurs.