Modi govt’s MSME grievance redressal portal Champions sees 33% jump in resolved cases this year so far

MSME Ministry had last in October announced integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to the portal

Technology for MSMEs: MSME complaints resolved through the grievance redressal platform for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) Champions launched in May last year by the government have spiked 33.2 per cent in nearly six-month period this year. From 26,693 complaints resolved as of January 31, 2021, the number has grown to 35,562 as of July 15, 2021. Launched as a grievance registration and management system for MSME issues pertaining to finance, raw materials, labour, regulatory permissions, etc., particularly due to the Covid impact, the portal “covers many aspects of e-governance including redressal of grievances and handholding of MSMEs,” MSME Minister Narayan Rane said sharing the data in the Rajya Sabha recently. The January data was earlier shared by former MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari.

“This is bound to be successful because it will create a huge repository of data about challenges around marketing, funding, export, government payments, banks etc. faced by MSMEs. Over a period of time, it will create an artificial intelligence kind of a thing where we would know, for example, in which state MSMEs face more problems related to credit and against which institution,” Rajiv Chawla, Chairman at the MSME association — IamSMEofIndia had told Financial Express Online. The association represents over 5,000 MSMEs.

The grievances filed on the Champions portal are routed problem-wise to concerned branch/bureau/office heads under the MSME Ministry to attend them within three days. The matter “should not remain inconclusive after seven days” AK Sharma, MSME Secretary had said in a note launching the trial version of the Champions portal on May 9. For unresolved complaints, the “top leadership of the MSME Ministry” will “pro-actively take (them) up,” Sharma had said.  The portal allows MSME associations, units, employees, and aspiring entrepreneurs, etc. to file complaints, share suggestions or seek information on the available government support to MSMEs. It also automatically pulls MSME grievances on the government’s Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) or any other portal of the MSME Ministry.

MSME Ministry had last year in October announced integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to the portal to get “social media insights relating to MSME”, “know the pulse of entire MSME sector without stakeholders going to the portal”, “know emotions of people involved with or dependent on MSMEs in real-time” and more, according to an earlier statement by the ministry. The ministry had also said that “AI has started giving the MSME Ministry social media insights relating to MSMEs for its policy action through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Blogs, Forums and online news which were not available to us on a holistic basis.”