Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME'S) in India: Growth and prospects

The MSME sector plays a pivotal role in the economic expansion of the nation. Nurturing this sector is imperative for the nation building, which will require government support to take necessary steps for progress of MSME's. MSME's have great prospects to alleviate poverty and take steps towards sustainable growth and development. This paper thus focuses on the growth and performance of working MSME's over a period of eight years in terms of number of enterprises, employment and investment in fixed assets. It also examines the contribution of the MSME sector to manufacturing and service output comparing it with the GDP and identifies the leading industries in MSME's. The paper also focuses to evaluate the outstanding bank credit to Micro and Small Enterprises. The paper also intends to focus on the various schemes initiated by the government and e-Governance measures taken by the government for the efficient functioning of the MSME sector. Data for the study is sourced from secondary sources and is presented using basic statistical tools. The findings of the study show that MSME's are an important segment in the Indian economy with a high degree of positive correlation between the number of working enterprises and employment and is also the major contributors of the retail and manufacturing output in the country, making rapid progress in various areas like Retail Trade, manufacturing, food processing, textiles and garments, restaurants etc. Government initiatives in the form of various schemes for marketing, infrastructure, exports, credit etc along with the e-Governance measures will lead to the exponential growth and efficiency of the sector in India.