The Government announced a special economic package of Rs.20 lakh crore with the aim of making the country “Atma Nirbhar” to sustain the adverse effects of COVID-19 pandemic. Under this package, a substantial number of measures were announced for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector, which included:
Revision in the definition of MSME and removal of the distinction between manufacturing and services MSMEs
Provision of collateral-free automatic loans of up to INR 3 lakh crores
Setting up of a Fund of Funds with a corpus of INR 10,000 crore for MSMEs which will provide equity funding to MSMEs with growth potential and viability
Disallowance of global tenders in procurements up to INR 200 crore to provide better opportunities for domestic players
Payment of dues to MSMEs from the Government and CPSEs within 45 days
It is safe to say that these provisions and restrictions have given a boost to the MSMEs in the country, especially during these testing times.