Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to Present Union Budget: MSMEs Hope for Support
New Delhi, India – As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares for the upcoming Union Budget, the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are hopeful that the government will prioritize and promote their sector. The Finance Minister will present the Union Budget for 2024-25 on July 23, marking her third straight term this year.
The MSME industry has urged the government to provide mechanisms to ease credit and financing, facilitate skill development, reduce compliance costs, and provide incentives to adopt cutting-edge technologies. Dr. Vijay Kalantri, Chairman of the World Trade Centre Mumbai and President of the All India Association of Industries (AIAI), emphasized the need for lower interest rates for MSMEs to help them upgrade their technology, skilled labor, and infrastructure.
Gurmit Singh Arora, National President of the Indian Plumbing Association, highlighted the need for extending the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme till March 2026 with an additional Rs 75,000 crores to provide liquidity support to MSMEs. He also mentioned the importance of reducing compliance costs and ensuring timely payments to MSMEs through the Government e-Marketplace portal.
The MSME sector has significantly contributed to India’s GDP, with a share of 29.1 percent in 2021-22. The Ministry of MSMEs was allocated Rs 22,137.95 crore under the interim Budget 2024-25 for implementing various schemes and technology upgrades.
Pankaj Sharma, CEO of Religare Finvest Ltd., called for measures to reduce financing costs, ease access to credit, and provide tax relief and incentives for innovation. Winny Patro, CEO & Co-founder of Recordent, stressed the need to address delayed payments to improve cash flow for MSMEs.
Parth Parmar, Director of PARE Innovations Pvt Ltd., emphasized the importance of skill development programs and expanding the ‘Make in India’ initiative with tax incentives and simplified regulations. Ankit Kumar, CEO of Skye Air, advocated for expanding the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to support MSMEs and boost their innovation and production capacity.
SBI Research has also supported a dedicated PLI scheme for MSMEs to enhance their sectoral contribution and facilitate broader economic growth. Abhinav Mathur, CEO & Managing Director of Kaapi Machines, expects the budget to introduce measures that enhance financial inclusion, simplify GST compliance, and incentivize R&D investments in cutting-edge technologies.