MSME Ministry Reports Over 4.5 Crore Registered Enterprises on Udyam Platform

New Delhi, Jun 6 (KNN) In a significant development reflecting the formalisation of India's vast micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector, the number of such businesses registered with the MSME Ministry has surpassed the 4.5 crore milestone, government data reveals.

According to the Udyam Registration portal launched in July 2020 to streamline MSME registrations, a staggering 4,50,64,147 enterprises stood registered with the Ministry at the time of reporting.

An overwhelming 98.1 per cent of these units, approximately 4.4 crore, are classified as micro enterprises, while 7.04 lakh are small enterprises, and 67,266 are medium-sized businesses.

Notably, the micro enterprise tally encompasses 1.86 crore units operating outside the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, such as street vendors registered via the recently introduced Udyam Assist Platform.

This surge in registered MSMEs represents a significant 71 per cent of the 6.33 crore unincorporated non-agricultural MSMEs estimated by the government's 2015-16 national sample survey, indicating a substantial transition towards the formal economic landscape.

Prior to the Udyam Registration initiative, the government relied on the Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum (UAM) and earlier the Entrepreneurs Memorandum (EM-II) for MSME registration.

Official data shows 21,96,902 EM-II filings between 2007-2015 and 1.02 crore UAM registrations from September 2015 to June 2020.

Udyam Registration entitles MSMEs to an array of benefits, including access to the GeM e-marketplace, the Samadhaan delayed payment monitoring platform, the TReDS invoice discounting system, and various schemes like credit guarantees, public procurement preferences, and priority sector lending from banks.

However, wholesale and retail traders registering under Udyam are limited to priority sector lending benefits.

According to the Udyam portal data, the registered MSMEs have collectively reported employing 19.5 crore individuals, with over 4.3 crore being women employees, underscoring the sector's substantial contribution to employment generation.

(KNN Bureau)