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NITI Aayog on Monday released a report titled 'Designing a Policy for Medium Enterprises', offering a comprehensive roadmap for transforming medium enterprises into future growth engines of India's economy.
The report highlights the critical, yet under-leveraged role played by medium enterprises and outlines targeted interventions to unlock their full potential. The report was launched by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery in the presence of VK Saraswat and Arvind Virmani, members NITI Aayog. The report delves into the structural skew in the MSME sector, which contributes approximately 29 per cent to India's GDP, accounts for 40 per cent of exports, and employs over 60 per cent of the workforce. Despite its critical role, the composition of the sector is disproportionately weighted: 97 per cent of registered MSMEs are micro enterprises, 2.7 per cent are small, and only 0.3 per cent are medium enterprises. However, this 0.3 per cent of medium enterprises contributes nearly 40 per cent of MSME exports, underscoring their untapped potential as scalable, innovation-led units. The report identifies medium enterprises as strategic actors in India's transition towards self-reliance and global industrial competitiveness under Viksit Bharat @2047. The report underscores key challenges faced by medium enterprises, including constrained access to tailored financial products, limited adoption of advanced technologies, inadequate R&D support, lack of sectoral testing infrastructure, and a mismatch between training programmes and enterprise needs. These limitations hinder their ability to scale and innovate. To address these issues, the report outlines a comprehensive policy framework with targeted interventions across six priority areas: Tailored Financial Solutions: Introduction of a working capital financing scheme linked to enterprise turnover; a Rs 5 crore credit card facility at market rates; and expedited fund disbursal mechanisms through retail banks, overseen by the Ministry of MSME. Technology Integration and Industry 4.0: Upgradation of existing Technology Centres into sector-specific and regionally customised India SME 4.0 Competence Centres to promote the adoption of Industry 4.0 solutions. R&D Promotion Mechanism: Establishment of a dedicated R&D cell within the Ministry of MSME, leveraging the Self-Reliant India Fund for cluster-based projects of national significance. Cluster-Based Testing Infrastructure: Development of sector-focused testing and certification facilities to ease compliance and enhance product quality. Custom Skill Development: Alignment of skilling programmes with enterprise-specific needs by region and sector, and integration of medium enterprise-centric modules into existing Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Programmes (ESDP). Centralised Digital Portal: Creation of a dedicated sub-portal within the Udyam platform featuring scheme discovery tools, compliance support, and AI-based assistance to help enterprises navigate resources effectively. The report emphasises that unlocking the potential of medium enterprises requires a shift toward inclusive policy design and collaborative governance. With strategic support in finance, technology, infrastructure, skilling, and information access, medium enterprises can emerge as the drivers of innovation, employment, and export growth. This transformation is pivotal to realising the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. (ANI)
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