Bharat Khera, MSME Secretary
Credit support of nearly ₹1 lakh crore under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 5.0 launched in May this year has strengthened the financial resilience of India’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), helping the sector navigate recent global disruptions, including the West Asia crisis, MSME Secretary Bharat Khera said on Tuesday.“Our effort has been to ensure that MSMEs don’t suffer unduly in such times,” he said, referring to the disruptions caused by the recent geopolitical tensions in West Asia. He added that the government’s policy interventions were aimed at enabling enterprises to navigate the period without major setbacks.The Cabinet approved ECLGS 5.0 in May to provide emergency credit support to businesses. Under the scheme, ₹2 lakh crore of credit has been earmarked for MSMEs with a 100 per cent government guarantee, allowing banks to extend additional working capital of over 20 per cent of existing limits to eligible units. Khera said the response to the scheme has been encouraging.Highlighting the broader expansion of institutional finance, Khera said credit outstanding to the MSME sector has increased from around ₹10 lakh crore in 2014 to ₹37 lakh crore currently. Biggest challengeUnderscoring concerns for the sector, Khera said delayed payments remain one of the biggest challenges facing MSMEs, as they adversely affect cash flows and liquidity. However, the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) has emerged as an effective mechanism to address this issue through invoice discounting.“TReDS has been a very successful model, and invoice discounting through the platform is a very good solution for delayed payments,” he said. Financial institutions make advance payments to MSMEs once invoices are uploaded and recover the dues from buyers later.The Secretary noted that while geopolitical shifts, supply chain disruptions and rapid technological changes are reshaping global business, they also present new opportunities for Indian enterprises. Emphasising that technology adoption is now a business imperative, he called on MSMEs to leverage digitalisation, Industry 4.0, artificial intelligence, and innovation to enhance productivity and competitiveness.Published on June 30, 2026
