By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
Nearly 6.5 crore MSMEs registered in Udyam Portal are providing employment opportunities to 28 crore people in India as the number of such units have increased 15 times in the last five years, Union MSME Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said on Friday.
“Udyam portal, which was launched on July 1, 2020, and offers a free, paperless, and self-declared registration process for MSMEs, has more than 3.80 crore units in its database till date. On the other hand, Udyam Assist Portal, which was launched on January 11, 2023, to support informal micro-enterprises and provide them access to formal benefits like Priority Sector Lending, has above 2.72 crore units in its database. These 6.5 crore MSME units have together provided employment opportunities to 28 crore people till date,” Manjhi said.
The number of MSME units have increased fifteen times in the last five years. He said MSMEs accounts for 35.4% of manufacturing and 45.73% of exports in India.
He also said the Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), which is a major credit-linked subsidy programme aimed at generating self-employment opportunities through establishment of micro-enterprises in the non-farm sector, assisted 80.33 lakh people to gain employment, eighty percent of which was in rural areas.
Speaking about the progress made in MSME sector which is the second highest contributor to the country’s economy in Mumbai, Manjhi stated that MSME accounts for 30.1% of India’s GDP.
Speaking about the PM Vishwakarma scheme, Manjhi stated that this scheme provides end-to-end support to artisans and craftspeople of 18 trades who work with their hands and tools.
The Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), which is a major credit-linked subsidy programme aimed at generating self-employment opportunities through establishment of micro-enterprises in the non-farm sector, assisted 80.33 lakh people to gain employment, eighty percent of which was in rural areas. Over 1.18 crore credit guarantees worth Rs. 9.80 lakh crore were approved under Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) since inception by Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises, with a record Rs 3 lakh crore worth of credit guarantees extended in the last financial year 2024-25 alone.
The number of beneficiaries of Credit Guaranatee Scheme will increase three times by 2029, stated the Union Minister. Special benefits are given to women entrepreneurs and SC/ST entrepreneurs under CGS, added Manjhi. The number of cases in MSME Samadhaan portal, which is an online platform to help MSMEs address delayed payment issues, has come down to 44,000 at present, from 93,000 cases as on October 2017, he further stated.
Manjhi stated that organizations under MSME Ministry like KVIC, Coir Board, National Small Industries Corporation Ltd. are performing well to take the schemes related to small industries and village products to the people and add to India’s GDP and exports. He informed that Mumbai-based IDEMI is involved in manufacturing component for Chandrayaan.