SMEStreet GameChangers Forum 2022 Launched on World MSME Day

Shri BB Swain, Secretary, MSME Ministry, Govt. of India delivered a keynote address in which he emphasized the recent Milestones of MSME Ministry which are achieved towards the commitment of MSMEs’ development. Dr Sunil Shukla, Director General of EDII, Ahmedabad and P Udayakumar, CMD of NSIC also participated in the forum and delivered their special address. A Panel Discussion on the topic of MSMEs’ Role in the Target Chase of 5 Trillion Dollar Sized Indian Economy was also conducted with the participation of Shri S Ravi, Ex -Chairman of BSE India, Shri Ajay Sharma, CMD, Abhinav Immigration Services and Shri Gaurav Jain, Co-Founder of LexComply. Shri Faiz Askari, Founder of SMEStreet have moderated the event and panel discussion. SMEStreet in association with LexComply also started an MSME-oriented Compliance Gateway Initiative to make MSMEs aware of Compliance and Legal related matters.

On the occasion of World MSME Day, 27th June 2022, SMEStreet GameChangers Forum 2022 – a series of webinars and podcasts have started. The theme of the entire series is – The Role of MSMEs in Chasing 5 Trillion Dollar Economy Target. SMEStreet GameChangers Forum 2022 is supported by the Ministry of MSME, Govt of India, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Ahmedabad, National Small Industries Corporation, LexComply and Almond – Vertix. SMEStreet Foundation is the executing agency for this activity and global partners included Bahrain-based UNISMO, AASGON and United Nations Global Compact, UK. SMEStreet is working along with its stakeholders on creating a valuable and noteworthy ecosystem for MSMEs where meaningful discussion for the upliftment of Indian MSMEs can happen. The keynote address of the inaugural session of SMEStreet GameChangers Forum 2022 was delivered by Shri BB Swain, Secretary, Ministry of MSME, Government of India. Shri Swain highlighted the recent milestones that were achieved by the MSME Ministry towards the MSME development. He mentioned, “A coordinated and collaborative efforts of stakeholders have to lead us to win over the recent crisis of Pandemic. Today, we are on a recovery path, better positioned than the previous year with a projected growth rate higher than that of the global economy.”

“One of the ambitious targets of the MSME ministry is to work towards complete formalization of the sector. For this purpose, an attempt was made in 2020 to launch the Udyam Portal where MSMEs can register easily on a self-declaration basis and without having to submit or upload any documentation. Udyam Portal is another important milestone on the ease of doing business front. In less than two years 92.92 lakh MSMEs have registered on the portal. Very soon we will be touching the 10 Million mark. The Udyam data is all set to become richer once the integration of the portal with that of NCS, e-Shram and ASEEM portal is completed,” informed Shri Swain, “We are also working towards facilitating greater ease of access to credit. To adequately address this aspect, there are programmes like PMEGP, Credit Guarantee Scheme, Self Reliant India Fund, etc. There is also the ECLGS, wherein 1.19 crore guarantees have been issued, of which 1.13 crore have been to MSME borrowers,” Shri Swain stated. Secretary Shri Swain also informed that the total amount of loan guaranteed under ECLGS is Rs.3.47 lakh crore. Out of this, the amount earmarked to MSME is Rs 2.31 lakh crore. The performance of the Credit Guarantee Scheme during 2021-22 has achieved a milestone with guarantee coverage of Rs. 56,172 crore, which is the highest in any year, so far, since its inception in 2000. The Self-Reliant India Fund has been operationalized and 22 Daughter Funds have already been empanelled. Besides, recently MSME RuPay Card has been launched with the NPCI.

While delivering a special address at the inaugural session of SMEStreet GameChangers Forum 2022, Dr Sunil Shukla, Director General of EDII, Ahmedabad emphasized sustainable growth through entrepreneurship. He said, “MSMEs have been significantly contributing to increasing in GDP while operating with minimal resources for a considerable amount of time. Concerted efforts have gone in, and are being planned, to develop the sector. On these lines, the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Ahmedabad, has also been closely associated with the Ministry of MSME and intends to increase the sector’s scalability and extensibility by implementing carefully curated strategies to achieve sustainable growth.” Shri Faiz Askari, Founder & Chief Editor SMEStreet and Secretary General of SMEStreet Foundation informed us about the event series and mentioned that this forum shall raise awareness and concerns of MSMEs to make their contribution more stranger and meaningful for the Economic growth of the Country. “By ensuring a positive frame for MSMEs and by building a robust MSME ecosystem we are contributing to a great nation-building exercise. This mission shall remain active and participation is needed. I am thankful to all the stakeholders who contributed to this mission,” commented Shri Faiz Askari.