Union Budget, 2022: FM Allocates Rs. 6,000 Crore For Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance

The Union Budget 2022-2023, presented by FM Nirmala Sitharaman tries to aid the MSME sector of the country by multiple booster shots. According to FM, the Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) program with an outlay of Rs. 6,000 crore over 5 years will be rolled out soon, to help the MSME sector become more resilient, competitive, and efficient.

Additionally, Udyam, e-Shram, NCS, and ASEEM portals will be interlinked to widen their scopes. They will now perform as portals with live, organic databases, providing G2C, B2C, and B2B services. These services will relate to credit facilitation, skilling, and recruitment to further formalize the economy and enhance entrepreneurial opportunities for all.

The budget also mentioned, "Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) has provided much-needed additional credit to more than 130 lakh MSMEs. This has helped them mitigate the adverse impact of the pandemic. The hospitality and related services, especially those by micro and small enterprises, are yet to regain their pre-pandemic level of business." Hence, in this budget, the union government decides to extend the ECLGS up to March 2023 and its guarantee cover will be expanded by Rs. 50,000 crore to a total cover of Rs. 5 lakh crore, with the additional amount being earmarked exclusively for the hospitality and related enterprises.

Commenting on that, Anuj Puri, Chairman - ANAROCK Group told the media, "The FM tried to rejuvenate the MSMEs sector which has a multiplier impact on the growth of the overall economy. The ECLGS scheme has been extended till March 2023 for the MSMEs. Besides providing an impetus to industrial development, this move is likely to have a rub-off effect on the real estate sector as well given that the catastrophic impact of the pandemic on this sector (MSMEs) slowed down the demand for affordable housing in 2021. We saw the home loan eligibility for many affordable housing buyers impacted by the pandemic due to loss of jobs and many MSMEs being shut down - resulting in significantly lower sales in this category."