India, June 26 -- The Government of India has issued a release:
PM Vishwakarma
PM Vishwakarma Transforming Lives of Artisans of Nagaland
Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)
MSME Champions Scheme
Self- Reliant India (SRI) Fund
Promotion of MSMEs in North Eastern Region and Sikkim
National SC-ST Hub (NSSH)
Rigtech Infra's Rise: A Story of Innovation, Support and Growth
Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI)
Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP)
Technology Centres
Smt. Villi, a basket maker from Zunheboto, Nagaland, strengthened her traditional craft through skill training under the PM Vishwakarma Scheme. She also availed a collateral-free loan of Rs.1 lakh to purchase raw materials and expand her enterprise. As a result, her monthly income rose by around 40% to nearly Rs.15,000. Her journey highlights how PM Vishwakarma is helping artisans enhance skills, grow their businesses and secure better livelihoods while preserving traditional crafts.
With support from the National SC-ST Hub (NSSH), Rigtech Infra (OPC) Pvt. Ltd. in Ranchi secured a Rs.25 lakh subsidy in 2023 to upgrade its manufacturing capabilities. The investment enhanced productivity and quality, helping the enterprise win government tenders worth Rs.15.75 lakh from Rail Vikas Nigam Limited in 2025. Today, the company records an annual turnover of Rs.4-5 crore and supports 16 jobs.
From artisans and rural enterprises to innovative manufacturers, MSMEs are powering India's growth story. Through sustained reforms, digitalisation and targeted support, millions of enterprises are gaining greater access to finance, technology, skills and markets. The sector's expanding contribution to employment, manufacturing and exports underscores its growing significance. As India advances towards Viksit Bharat 2047, the sector will continue to play a pivotal role in driving employment, entrepreneurship and sustainable economic development.
India's MSMEs: Powering Inclusive Economic Growth
In every corner of India, enterprises take a different form. It could be a weaver preserving generations of craftsmanship, a small manufacturer serving global markets, a woman entrepreneur building a business, or a young innovator building a startup. Diverse in scale and sector yet united in spirit, these millions of enterprises form the foundation of India's MSME ecosystem.
Today, MSMEs are far more than business enterprises. They are engines of employment, innovation and inclusive growth, creating opportunities across rural and urban India alike. Driven by formalisation, digital transformation and sustained policy interventions, the sector continues to expand. It is strengthening its contribution to the economy while advancing the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat 2047. From enterprise to empowerment, the MSME story is increasingly becoming a story of India's growth and transformation.
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India's MSME Landscape: Scale, Diversity and Impact
MSMEs today play a pivotal role in driving India's economic growth and industrial development. Reflecting their expanding role in the economy, the Government revised the definition of MSMEs with effect from 1 April 2025. Based on investment and annual turnover, it provides enterprises greater room to expand while continuing to benefit from policy support.
The January 2026 data shows that the sector contributes about 31.1% in GDP, 35.4% in manufacturing output and 48.58% in exports. With more than 38.9 crore people employed, MSMEs are the second-largest source of employment after agriculture.
Beyond economic indicators, MSMEs are nurturing a vibrant entrepreneurial culture across the country. The sector has emerged as a gateway for first-generation entrepreneurs, women-led enterprises and youth-led ventures, particularly in semi-urban and rural areas. This transformation is being reinforced by a series of enabling reforms. Initiatives such as the digital Credit Assessment Model and enhanced equity support to SIDBI are expanding their access to formal finance.
A Year of Transformation
The year 2025-26 marked a significant chapter in India's MSME growth story. It witnessed several landmark achievements that strengthened India's MSME ecosystem across formalisation, credit access, technology adoption, grievance redressal and market development.
Formalisation Reaches New Heights
Expanding Access to Credit
Khadi and Village Industries& Coir Sector Scale New Heights
Responsive and Technology-Driven Governance
Improving Market Access
Together, these milestones reflect the continued efforts to build a more competitive, innovative and future-ready MSME ecosystem.
Empowering the Udyami with Policies & Initiatives
At the heart of India's MSME success story lies a strong ecosystem of policy support and institutional interventions. Through initiatives focused on entrepreneurship and enterprise development, the Government is enabling millions of businesses to unlock new opportunities and contribute to economic growth.
PM Vishwakarma provides end-to-end support to artisans and craftspeople engaged in 18 traditional trades. The scheme has emerged as a major catalyst for artisan empowerment, through skill training, toolkit support, digital transactions and marketing assistance.The target of 30 lakh beneficiary registrations, originally planned for four years, was achieved within just two years.
The Scheme's Transformative Multi-Dimensional Impact:
A Scheme for Promotion of Innovation, Rural Industry and Entrepreneurship (ASPIRE)
The ASPIRE Scheme promotes entrepreneurship and livelihood generation in rural areas through skill development, incubation and support for micro-enterprises.With 109 approved Livelihood Business Incubators (LBIs) as of June 2026, the scheme has strengthened rural entrepreneurship and inclusive growth:
The flagship credit-linked subsidy scheme promotes self-employment through the establishment of micro-enterprises in the non-farm sector. Under the Scheme, Margin Money (Subsidy) is provided to beneficiaries availing loan from banks for setting up new enterprises.
Since June 2025, its reach expanded further with application facilities being introduced in 19 regional languages excluding English and Hindi.Since its inception (as on May 2026), the scheme has supported:
The MSME Champions Scheme supports enterprises in becoming more innovative, sustainable and globally competitive. It enables MSMEs to improve productivity, adopt global best practices and strengthen their position in domestic and international markets.
The scheme's impact is reflected across its three pillars:
While many MSMEs have the potential to grow, access to equity capital often remains a challenge.
Launched under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package, the SRI Fund is a Fund of Funds (FoF) initiative aimed at providing equity support to promising MSMEs. It is helping them overcome funding constraints, scale operations and attract further investment. The Budget 2026-27 has provided an additional Rs.2,000 crore to augment the Self-Reliant India Fund. This ensures continued access to risk capital for micro and small enterprises while supporting their growth and expansion. Notably, the SRI Fund has assisted 761 MSMEs by way of investment worth Rs.2,851 crore (as of May 2026).
The scheme for Promotion of MSMEs in NER & Sikkim continues to play an important role in expanding the MSME ecosystem in the North East. As on December 2025, 73 projects have been approved to enhance manufacturing, testing, packaging, skilling and innovation infrastructure. During 2025 , eight new infrastructure projects were approved across Assam and Meghalaya. The scheme involves a total project cost of Rs.114.37 crore with Government assistance amounting to Rs.89.60 crore. These investments are helping create a stronger foundation for enterprise-led growth in industrial estates and tourism infrastructure.
The NSSH is helping entrepreneurs from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities access markets, build capacities and participate more actively in public procurement.
The scheme's impact is increasingly visible:
Micro and Small Enterprises Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP)
The scheme seeks to strengthen the productivity and competitiveness of MSEs through cluster-based development by providing Government grants for establishing Common Facility Centres (CFCs) and upgrading infrastructure in industrial estates and clusters.
The scheme has delivered significant progress in cluster-based development:
India's traditional industries carry deep cultural and economic value. Yet artisans often face challenges such as, limited access to modern tools, and weak market linkages that restrict income growth and scalability.
SFURTI responds to these structural gaps by organising artisans into well-supported clusters. It organises traditional artisans into clusters for improved competitiveness, product development and sustainable income generation.
Over time, the scheme has established a strong national footprint, with 513 clusters approved across the country, benefiting 3.03 lakh traditional artisans. A total of 376 clusters are currently functional as of June 2026. In 2023-24 alone, 18 new clusters became operational, benefiting 11,810 artisans across 11 States.
Supported by the World Bank, the RAMP Scheme aims to improve MSMEs' access to markets, finance and technology. The scheme is strengthening the MSME ecosystem through reforms, institutional capacity building and greater Centre-State collaboration:
The Technology Centres function as hubs for skill development, technology support and innovation. Through a network of Tool Rooms, Technology Centres, and Extension Centres, they foster industry-ready talent. The agenda is to support upskilling and reskilling of the workforce to meet emerging industry requirements.
By combining technology, skilling and industry support, the Technology Centre network is helping MSMEs innovate, modernise and compete in an increasingly technology-driven economy.
Shaping the Future Through Enterprise
The progress of India's MSME sector reflects a larger national transformation underway. Expanding access to finance, technology, skills, infrastructure and markets is enabling enterprises to become more productive, competitive and resilient. As the sector continues to evolve, its growing contribution to employment, innovation and economic growth will further strengthen India's development journey. It will also help lay the foundations of a more inclusive, self-reliant and developed India.
References
Ministry of Finance
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID2216047®3&lang1
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID2110404®3&lang2#:~:textSpecific%20targets%20for%20lending%20to,registered%20under%20the%20GST%20regime
Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
https://msme.gov.in/sites/default/files/Scheme-booklet-Eng.pdf
https://msme.gov.in/sites/default/files/MSMEANNUALREPORT2025-26ENGLISH_0.pdf
https://msme.gov.in/sites/default/files/MSME-Connect.htm#:~:textThe%20engineering%20sector%20forms%20the,manufacturing%20across%20diverse%20engineering%20disciplines.
https://zed.msme.gov.in/
https://pmvishwakarma.gov.in/
https://www.india.gov.in/spotlight/pradhan-mantri-vishwakarma-scheme
https://udyamassist.gov.in/
https://aspire.msme.gov.in/ASPIRE/AFHome.aspx
https://www.kviconline.gov.in/pmegpeportal/pmegphome/dashboard.jsp
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID2089308
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID2204536®3&lang1
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID2209712®3&lang1
https://www.pib.gov.in/FactsheetDetails.aspx?id150535&NoteId150535&ModuleId16®37&lang1
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID2087361®3&lang2
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID2265369®3&lang1
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
https://www.investindia.gov.in/team-india-blogs/growth-imperative-msme-sector#:~:textThe%20MSME%20sector%20accounts%20for,to%20more%20than%201000%20people.
United Nations
https://www.un.org/en/observances/micro-small-medium-businesses-day
Cabinet
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID2216720®3&lang1
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
https://www.sidbi.in/uploads/Understanding_Indian_MSME_sector_Progress_and_Challenges_13_05_25_Final.pdf
RBI
https://www.rbi.org.in/commonman/Upload/English/speeches/PDFs/MSME06032020.PDF
Niti Aayog
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID2214899®3&lang1
https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2026-01/Achieving_Efficiencies_in_MSME_Sector_Through_Convergence_of_Schemes.pdf
IBEF
https://www.ibef.org/industry/msme
PIB Archives
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressNoteDetails.aspx?NoteId154772&ModuleId3®3&lang2
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID2192524®3&lang2
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID2226828®48&lang2
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