The MSME minister last week informed that 41,37,443 MSMEs registered on Udyam Registration portal, from July 1, 2020 to July 31, 2021. This new portal was launched in 2020, after adoption of a new definition for the sector. Previously, 1,02,32,468 such units had registered on Udyog Aadhaar Portal since its inception in October 2015 to June 2020. These two data sets clearly show that the new portal -- which gives users a better experience of MSME registration – is performing well.

In a similar development, the Rajya Sabha was last week informed that so far a total of 26.79 lakh artisans have registered under Pahchan initiative. It was launched in 2016 by the Union Ministry of Textiles to register and provide Identity cards to handicraft artisans and link them to a national database, so that the beneficiaries can avail easy loan at nominal interest rate. The latest data indicates that this new initiative for registering our artisans is picking up pace.

Similarly, the national procurement portal for official purchases, GeM, has also seen encouraging participation from small enterprises during the last few years. Today, it has over 7 lakh sellers, with over 2 lakh micro and small enterprises, and also startups are increasingly participating in this platform. According to media reports, GeM and railways’ e-procurement system are likely to be integrated soon, a move which is expected to push procurement through the portal vigorously.

The above developments are welcome. Registration has remained a major problem for our MSMEs. The country today has millions of MSME units, but only a small portion of them are operating in the formal sector, as a result of which policy support is available only to a limited number of MSMEs. In the background of this, initiatives like Udyam Registration, Pahchan and GeM are welcome. They will encourage more and more small enterprises to be a part of the formal sector.