Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are the lifeblood of India’s economic framework, contributing approximately 30% to the nation’s GDP and instrumental in employment generation

1. Recognizing their challenges, the Indian government has introduced several initiatives to empower MSMEs, particularly concerning access to credit

2. The Union Budget 2024–25 allocated ₹22,137.95 crore to support the sector, including enhancements to the Credit Guarantee Scheme which facilitates collateral-free loans 

2. Furthermore, the TReDS platform has been expanded to expedite invoice payments 2. Beyond these, schemes like Mudra Yojana provide collateral-free financial support to MSMEs, having already benefited approximately 30 million MSMEs with loans totalling ₹15 lakh crores

3. The Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) offers subsidised loans specifically for rural manufacturing projects

4. Additionally, newer initiatives like GIFT (Green Investment and Financing for Transformation) offer interest subvention of 2% on term loans up to ₹2 crores, and SPICE (Scheme for Promotion and Investment in Circular Economy) provides a one-time credit-linked capital subsidy of 25% of the project cost, restricted to ₹50 lakhs for micro and small enterprises adopting green technologies

5 These schemes aim to ease the financial burden and promote sustainable development for MSMEs