No data maintained by government on MSMEs shutdown due to COVID-19: Nitin Gadkari

New Delhi, Feb 10 (KNN) Several Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) face the hit of COVID-19 induced lockdown which led to the closure or temporary shutdown of businesses, however, there is no official record maintained for the same by the government, said MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari.

He said that the figures of the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in India during the first quarter of 2020-21 indicate that economic activity contracted due to the strict lockdown measures imposed by the Government.

''This contraction has also had impact on the MSME sector.  However,  as MSMEs are there in both formal and informal sector, data  regarding  temporary  or permanent closure of the units are not maintained by the Government of India in Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME),'' Gadkari informed Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question on Tuesday.

The MSME Minister also said that Post COVID-19, government has taken a number of initiatives under AatmaNirbharBharat Abhiyan to support the  MSME sector in the country especially in COVID-19  pandemic such as: Rs 20,000 crore Subordinate Debt for MSMEs; Rs. 3 lakh crore Collateral free Automatic Loans for business, including MSMEs; Rs. 50,000 crore equity infusion through MSME Fund of Funds; New revised criteria for classification of MSMEs; New  Registration  of  MSMEs  through 'Udyam  Registration' for Ease of Doing Business; No global tenders for procurement up to Rs 200 crores.

''An online Portal “Champions” has been launched on 01.06.2020 by Prime Minister.  This covers many aspects of e-governance including grievance redressal and handholding of MSMEs. Through the portal, total 26,693 grievances have been redressed upto 31.01.2021,'' Gadkari added.

In reply to a separate question in the upper house of Parliament on Monday Gadkari cited a study undertaken by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) to assess the impact of the pandemic on the micro-units set up under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP).

The also minister noted that 88 per cent of the PMEGP beneficiaries reported that they were negatively affected while the remaining 12 per cent were benefitted due to COVID.