As per the 73rd Round of NSS Report on Unincorporated Non-Agricultural Enterprises' (July 2015- June 2016) conducted by the Ministry of Statistics & PI (MoSPI), the estimated number of persons employed in MSMEs are about 11.10 crore. Under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), the estimated employment generated (number of persons) in micro-enterprises during the year 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 (as on 15.11.2021) are 4.08 lakh, 3.87 lakh, 5.87 lakh, 5.33 lakh, 5.95 lakh, and 2.90 lakh respectively.
The Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) implements various schemes to increase employment opportunities of the MSME sector in the country. These include PMEGP, Micro and Small Enterprises-Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP), Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI), Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) and a Scheme for Promoting Innovation, Rural Industry & Entrepreneurship (ASPIRE).
The government has taken a number of initiatives under Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan to support the MSME Sector in the country especially in the Covid-19 Pandemic. Some of them are:
i. Rs 20,000 crore Subordinate Debt for MSMEs.
ii. Rs 3 lakh crores Collateral free Automatic Loans for business, including MSMEs.
iii. Rs. 50,000 crore equity infusion through MSME Fund of Funds.
iv. Newly revised criteria for the classification of MSMEs.
v. New Registration of MSMEs through ‘Udyam Registration’ for Ease of Doing Business.
vi. No global tenders for procurement up to Rs. 200 crores, this will help MSME.
As reported by the Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises on 16.11.2021, 754 guarantees amounting to Rs. 81.47 Crore have been approved under Credit Guarantee Scheme for Subordinate Debt (CGSSD). As part of the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), an amount of Rs. 2.82 lakh crore has been sanctioned as of 12.11.2021.