Year End Review: Top 10 policy measures during 2020 by Ministry of MSMEs

New Delhi, Dec 31 (KNN) While the 2020 will go down in history as one of the most challenging period, it will also mark as one year wherein whole lot of policy measures were undertaken by Government of India for the Micro Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).  

Besides the initiatives for KVIC, Coir and PMEGP, the measures for MSMEs included putting in place financial support mechanism through Fund of Funds, broadening definition of MSMEs, introducing IT based Champions platform to provide solutions to issues of MSMEs and encouraging entrepreneurship to promote self-employment.

   ---  1.    To address the COVID-19 led challenges, under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat package a Distressed Assets Fund -Subordinate Debt for MSMEs, was announced. With Government of India assistance of Rs. 4000 crore, provisioning of Rs. 20,000 crore as subordinate debt to provide equity support to the stressed MSMEs was launched on 24th June 2020. Up to Nov 2020, guarantee to 121 borrowers amounting to Rs. 12.49 crore has been extended.

   ---  2.    A Fund of Funds Scheme for MSMEs was launched with a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore to eventually leverage equity infusion of Rs. 50,000 crore for MSMEs on  5th August 2020. The Mother Fund - NSIC Venture Capital Fund Ltd. (NVCL), a subsidiary company of National Small Industries Corporation Ltd. (NSIC) has been incorporated.

   ---  3.    The Ministry of MSME, vide notification no. S.O.2119 (E) dated 26.06.2020, notified a composite criteria of classification of MSMEs based on investment in plant & machinery/equipment and turnover of MSMEs. As a result of change in classification criteria, an enterprise is classified as a micro, small or medium enterprise on the basis of the following criteria, namely:

   -- (i) a micro enterprise, where the investment in plant and machinery or equipment does not exceed one crore rupees and turnover does not exceed five crore rupees;

   -- (ii) a small enterprise, where the investment in plant and machinery or equipment does not exceed ten crore rupees and turnover does not exceed fifty crore rupees; and

   -- (iii) a medium enterprise, where the investment in plant and machinery or equipment does not exceed fifty crore rupees and turnover does not exceed two hundred and fifty crore rupees.

The new classification has come into effect from 1st July, 2020.

   ---  4.    The Champions Portal was- an ICT based technology platform launched by Prime Minister on 1st June, 2020, to resolve the grievances pertaining to other Govt. Departments/Ministries in a fast track manner. A network of control rooms is created in a Hub & Spoke Model with hub being situated in the office of Ministry of MSME, New Delhi while the spokes are located in the States in various offices and institutions of Ministry. 16 Ministries/ Departments and 25 State Governments have already on boarded on the platform. Further, 54 Banks/FIs/RRBs/SFCs and 52 CPSEs have also been on-boarded on the portal to address the queries related to Credit and procurement in a fast track manner.

   ---  5.    Under its flagship Cluster Development Programme, Ministry approved 62 New Projects, with total project cost of Rs. 556.58 crore and GoI grant of Rs. 387.24 crore. Out of these approved projects, 32 projects are for setting up of Common Facility Centers (CFCs) and remaining 30 projects are for Infrastructure Development (ID) of Industrial Estates.

   ---  6.    With a view to expand and upgrade the network of Technology Centres (Tool Rooms and Technology Development Centres) in the country, the Ministry  launched the Technology Centre Systems Programme (TCSP) at an estimated Projected cost of Rs 2200 crore to establish 15 new Technology Centres (TCs) and upgrade existing TCs across the country. Further, to augment the network of 18 existing Technology Centres, and 15 new Technology Centres being established under World Bank assisted Technology Centre Systems Programme (TCSP), a new scheme, "Establishment of new Technology Centres / Extension Centres", had already been announced.

   ---  7.    Under the Credit Linked Capital Subsidy - Technology Upgradation Scheme (CLCS-TUS) several new initiatives have been launched. Included namely Digital MSME, Lean Manufacturing, Support for Entrepreneurial and Managerial Development of MSMEs, Design, Zero Defect Zero Effect (ZED) and IPR centers.

   ---  8.    Under the Public Procurement Policy for MSEs Order, 2012, all Central Government Ministries/ Departments and CPSEs are required to procure 25% of their annual requirements of goods and services from MSEs including 4% from MSEs owned by SC/ST and 3% from MSEs owned by women entrepreneurs under the public procurement policy. The progress of procurements from MSEs was regularly monitored through MSME-SAMBANDH portal.

   ---  9.    The National Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe Hub (NSSH) has become fully functional and under its Special Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (SCLCSS)  a sum of Rs. 56.22 crore was released to 532 SC/ST enterprises.  Further, 9,240 SC/ST candidates have been provided capacity building skill / entrepreneurship development training in various sectors through 40 autonomous training institutes across India. Over 3422 sector-specific toolkits have been distributed to SC/ST candidates successfully trained under the capacity building training programmes.

   ---  10.  Under the Entrepreneurship Skill Development Programme (ESDP), 947 programs have been conducted during the period January 2020 to November 2020.