The share of loans to micro industries that are showing signs of early stress increased in April 2026 from the month before amid heightened geographical tensions due to the two-month long West Asia crisis.Micro borrowers are those with an exposure of less than ₹2crore. According to data from CRIF High Mark, a credit bureau, share of loans awaiting repayment for 91 to 180 days increased to 1.4% in the April 2026, as against 1.1% in the earlier month. The share of shorter period loans (31 to 90 days) at risk of non-payment, stayed at 2.7%for the second consecutive month. Moreover, average ticket sizes in the micro and small segments increased 30-35% YoY between Q4 FY25 and Q4 FY26.The data becomes important as credit to micro industries constitutes about 86% of active loans in the Micro Small Medium Enterprises segment. There has also been a slowdown in the outstanding credit across the board with micro industry credit dipping 4.6% in fiscal 2026, as against a growth of 1.5% in the previous fiscal. “India’s MSMEx Business sector has so far navigated the geopolitical factors with domestic demand resilience, policy support, and adaptive working capital management. However, there are areas like slower portfolio growth, stress in select subsectors and lender groups, and rising early stage delinquencies in certain borrower segments - that lenders and policymakers may need to observe closely,” CRIF said in its report on MSME lending released in June 2026. Published - June 09, 2026 08:24 pm IST