BT India@100 summit: The stage is set for the Indian MSME growth story

Despite the adverse effects of the pandemic on the economy, India's micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) have recovered and now poised to drive robust growth in India.

In a panel discussion titled ‘Millions of Sprightly, Mercurial, Entrepreneurs: The MSME Path to National Economic Glory,’ industry leaders illustrated how the Indian MSMEs are set to play a major role in driving India’s GDP growth in the coming years.

Responding to questions by Business Today Senior Editor, Abha Bakaya, CRISIL Ratings' Managing Director Gurpreet Chhatwal said, “India is transitioning as a country and there is  good amount of mechanisation taking place. MSMEs have benefitted from the introduction of the PLI scheme and eventually, MSMEs will help the growth of larger companies.”

R Narayan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Power2SME said, “Globally, 65-70 per cent GDP is contributed by MSMEs. In India, MSMEs are becoming the backbone of the economy. There are 63 million enterprises some 6,000 have shut down during the pandemic, so the numbers are still good. There are a few things on the wish-list for the government which includes access to finance and incentives for the sector.”

Sanjay Bhatia, Managing Director, Hindustan Tin Works said, "If India is poised to grow into a $5 trillion economy and keep its growth high while generating employment, the answer is MSME. We can call them engines of growth. The MSMEs too have to gear up for the future and get used to digitisation. Skill training in digitisation is going to be key for driving the next level growth of MSMEs.”

Riju Jhunjhunwala, CD, LNJ Bhilwara Group, said, “MSMEs need government support in the areas of finance and ease of compliance. India has tremendous talent in terms of growth of small and medium scale enterprises. There is an untapped entrepreneurial potential in the B and C towns which no long have a technology gap. Right nurturing of this segment could contribute heavily to the MSME growth story of India.”