- Wednesday, March 12, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
IN a proof that India’s informal sector has come under a financial stress during the Covid-19 pandemic and has lost a major market share, an Indian minister told the country’s parliament on Monday (25) that nearly 10,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) closed down between 2019 and 2022.
Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, the minister of state for MSMEs, in a written response to a lawmaker’s question in the Rajya Sabha or Upper House of the parliament cited data from erstwhile Udyog Aadhaar (a twelve digit Unique Identification Number provided by the Indian MSME ministry ) and Udyam (registration under Udyam also known as MSME registration) that 9,667 MSMEs closed since 2019.
This compares with 400 MSMEs that shut shop during 2016-2019, he added.
India’s Narendra Modi government had unveiled various measures right after the pandemic started, including emergency credit line guarantee for businesses, including the MSMEs.
But the MSMEs still continue to face challenges related to rising costs, liquidity, labour and availability of raw material.
The MSMEs give employment to millions across India.
Responding to another query, Verma said the closure of 6,222 MSMEs during the 2021-22 financial year saw loss of employment for 42,662 persons.
Besides, the closing down of 2,870 MSMEs had caused loss of 19,862 jobs this fiscal year till July 20.
