India’s MSME sector has created over 27 crore jobs, with significant growth in Udyam registrations. Women hold 26% of these jobs. The government is streamlining regulations, supporting women-led and rural enterprises.
India’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have collectively generated over 27 crore jobs, as per data from the MSME Ministry’s Udyam portal. Since the portal’s inception in July 2020, 6.29 crore MSMEs have registered and reported 27.34 crore jobs, reflecting a 45% rise from 18.5 crore jobs recorded in April last year. This figure includes 3.23 crore jobs contributed by informal micro enterprises registered through the Udyam Assist Platform (UAP), which supports businesses outside the Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework. Of the remaining 23.7 crore jobs, women account for a significant 26%, amounting to 6.25 crore positions.
To further bolster the sector, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during her address at Stanford University on her recent US visit, highlighted plans to streamline regulatory processes, digitize approvals, and better integrate MSMEs into global value chains. She also emphasized dedicated support for women-led and rural enterprises to promote broader and more inclusive economic growth.
Meanwhile, the MSME Ministry continues to cite the 73rd round of the National Sample Survey (NSS) conducted in 2015-16 in its annual reports. That survey reported 11.10 crore jobs created by 6.33 crore MSMEs, distributed across manufacturing (3.60 crore jobs), trade (3.87 crore), other services (3.62 crore), and a small number in non-captive electricity generation (7,000 jobs). Job creation by enterprise type included 10.76 lakh jobs by micro units, 31.95 lakh by small enterprises, and 1.75 lakh by medium enterprises.
In an important move to expand MSME benefits, the government revised the definition of MSMEs in the latest budget. The Investment and turnover limits have been raised to Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 10 crore for micro enterprises, Rs 25 crore and Rs 100 crore for small enterprises, and Rs 125 crore and Rs 500 crore for medium enterprises.
The MSME sector remains a key driver of India’s economic growth, playing a crucial role in employment generation, manufacturing, and exports. In recent years, the sector has demonstrated notable resilience, with its contribution to the country’s Gross Value Added (GVA) rising from 27.3% in 2020-21 to 29.6% in 2021-22, and further to 30.1% in 2022-23, underscoring its increasing importance in the national economy.
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