Ministry
Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises is the Union government's apex body for the policy, promotion and regulation of India's micro, small and medium enterprises. It administers the MSMED Act, 2006, runs the Udyam registration system that defines who counts as an MSME, and channels the credit-guarantee, cluster, khadi and artisan schemes through which the state supports a sector it counts as roughly 30 percent of GDP and the country's largest employer after agriculture.
Updated
- Formed
- 9 May 2007 (merger of the Ministries of Small Scale Industries and of Agro and Rural Industries)
- Governing law
- MSMED Act, 2006 (in force 2 October 2006)
- Registrations
- 6.52 crore enterprises on Udyam + Udyam Assist (as of mid-2025, per the MSME Minister)
- Economic weight
- ~30.1% of GDP, 35.4% of manufacturing, 45.73% of exports (Union MSME Ministry, 2025)
- Revised classification
- Effective 1 April 2025: Micro <=Rs 2.5cr / Rs 10cr; Small <=Rs 25cr / Rs 100cr; Medium <=Rs 125cr / Rs 500cr (investment / turnover)
- Attached bodies
- DC-MSME, KVIC, Coir Board, NSIC, MGIRI, NIMSME
Role
The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises is the Union government’s apex body for the promotion, development and regulation of India’s MSME sector. It administers the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006, the statute that first fixed a legal definition of a “medium enterprise” and set the 45-day rule on payments owed to small suppliers. Formed on 9 May 2007 by merging the Ministry of Small Scale Industries with the Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries, it inherited a lineage of post-independence small-industry policy and today sits alongside the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India as one of the offices that decides how credit and support reach the country’s smallest firms. Its most consequential instrument is definitional: through the Udyam registration system it controls who counts as an MSME, and therefore who is eligible for the priority-sector lending, guarantees and procurement set-asides that flow to the sector.
The Ministry works largely through attached and subordinate bodies rather than directly: the Office of the Development Commissioner (DC-MSME) for cluster development and technology; the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and the Coir Board for traditional rural industry; and the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) for marketing and finance facilitation. It runs employment and artisan schemes such as PMEGP and PM Vishwakarma, and the delayed-payment redress mechanism MSME Samadhaan. Credit-guarantee support flows through CGTMSE, a trust it operates jointly with financial institutions and which is shaped by Ministry of Finance budget decisions. Its economic remit is large relative to its budget: the Ministry counts the sector at roughly 30 percent of GDP and nearly half of exports, making it a policy seat whose leverage comes from definitions and guarantees more than from direct spending.
Desk maintained by IndiaStand editorial cycles. Officeholders are transient; this dossier tracks the institution.
Timeline since 1947
- reference
Ministry of Small Scale Industries and Agro and Rural Industries created
Small-scale, agro and rural industry portfolios are brought under a single Union ministry, later split (2001) and re-merged.
- reference
MSMED Act, 2006 comes into force
The Act creates the statutory 'medium enterprise' category, an investment-based classification, and the 45-day delayed-payment framework.
- reference
Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises formed
The Ministries of Small Scale Industries and of Agro and Rural Industries are merged into a single apex ministry for the sector.
- official
Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) begins
The Ministry's flagship credit-linked subsidy scheme for non-farm micro-enterprises starts in FY 2008-09, providing margin-money subsidy against bank loans of up to Rs 50 lakh (manufacturing) and Rs 20 lakh (services). By 16 December 2025 it had assisted more than 10.71 lakh micro enterprises with Rs 29,249.43 crore of margin money and an estimated 87 lakh jobs.
- official
Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises notified
The Ministry's Order mandates that Central Ministries, Departments and CPSEs source at least 25 percent of annual procurement from MSEs, with 4 percent from SC/ST-owned and 3 percent from women-owned units, and reserves 358 items for exclusive MSE procurement. In 2024-25 participating buyers procured Rs 93,017.08 crore, or 43.58 percent, from MSEs.
- official
Cabinet approves Technology Centre Systems Programme (TCSP)
The CCEA clears a World Bank-assisted programme to build 15 new Technology Centres and modernise existing ones at an estimated Rs 2,200 crore; it was later extended to September 2026 at a revised Rs 2,402 crore. Nine of the new centres have since been commissioned, from Bhiwadi and Visakhapatnam to Imphal and Puducherry.
- official
Scheme for Promotion of MSMEs in the North Eastern Region and Sikkim launched
A dedicated infrastructure and common-facility scheme for the NER, continued through the 15th Finance Commission cycle (2021-2026) with an outlay of Rs 295 crore. As of 15 December 2025 it had approved 73 proposals since inception.
- official
CHAMPIONS grievance and handholding portal launched
The Ministry opens a single online window for MSME grievance redress and e-governance. From launch to 18 December 2025 it received 1,62,546 grievances, of which 1,61,540 (99.38 percent) were replied to on the portal.
- reference
Composite classification and Udyam registration launched
Notification S.O. 2119(E) replaces the investment-only test with a composite investment-and-turnover criterion; the online Udyam portal replaces earlier registration systems.
- official
Self Reliant India (SRI) Fund begins equity funding of MSMEs
The Ministry's fund-of-funds, with NSIC Venture Capital Fund Ltd as the mother fund, starts placing equity in growth-stage MSMEs. By 30 November 2025 it had empanelled 69 daughter funds and invested Rs 1,823 crore in 682 MSMEs.
- official
MSME Innovative scheme launched with incubation, design and IPR components
A component of the MSME Champions umbrella that funds idea incubation, design projects and IP protection. It has approved 773 Host Institutes, signed 21 design MoUs with IISc, IITs and NITs, and secured 191 patents, 807 trademarks, 99 designs and 6 GI registrations through IP Facilitation Centres.
- official
MSME Sustainable (ZED) Certification scheme launched
The Zero Defect Zero Effect certification scheme becomes the Ministry's main quality and sustainability instrument for enterprises. It has registered 2,71,373 MSMEs and certified 1,92,689 of them (1,89,268 Bronze, 1,913 Silver, 1,508 Gold).
- official
RAMP programme launched
The World Bank-supported 'Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance' scheme, outlay Rs 6,062.45 crore (USD 808 million), begins its 2022-23 to 2026-27 run.
- reference
Udyam Assist Platform opened for informal micro units
Informal micro enterprises below the GST threshold are onboarded to a formalisation track, counted alongside Udyam registrations.
- official
MSME Competitive (LEAN) scheme launched
The third MSME Champions component pushes lean manufacturing practice, with 32,077 MSMEs registered, 31,987 taking the Lean pledge, 7,394 attaining Basic Lean Certification and 1,871 registered at the Intermediate level.
- official
PM Vishwakarma scheme launched for artisans in 18 trades
An end-to-end support scheme covering skilling, toolkits, collateral-free concessional credit and market linkage for craftspeople working with hands and tools. Its 30 lakh beneficiary-registration target was met within two years; Rs 2,257 crore was sanctioned to 2.62 lakh beneficiaries and 10.57 lakh toolkits delivered during 2025 alone.
- official
Yashasvini campaign launched to close the Udyam gender gap
The Ministry begins a registration drive targeting gender parity on the Udyam and Udyam Assist portals by 2029 and the mandated 3 percent public-procurement share for women-owned MSEs. The campaigns have since facilitated registration of over 12.5 lakh women-owned MSMEs.
- official
CGTMSE crosses one crore cumulative guarantees in its 25th year
The Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises passes one crore guarantees since inception; 29.03 lakh guarantees worth Rs 3.77 lakh crore were approved between 1 January and 30 November 2025, with the guarantee ceiling raised from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore from 1 April 2025.
- official
Union Budget 2025-26 announces classification and credit changes
The Budget raises MSME investment and turnover limits (2.5x and 2x), doubles the credit-guarantee cover for micro and small enterprises to Rs 10 crore, and announces a Rs 5 lakh customised credit card for micro units.
- official
Revised MSME classification takes effect
Notification S.O. 1364(E) (21 March 2025) makes the higher investment and turnover thresholds operative from FY 2025-26.
- official
Online Dispute Resolution portal opened for delayed-payment cases
The Ministry adds a low-cost, end-to-end digital track for MSE delayed-payment disputes alongside the existing MSEFC machinery, filing to resolution, aimed at making claims viable even at very small values.
- official
Udyam and Udyam Assist registrations cross 7.3 crore enterprises
Cumulative registrations since 1 July 2020 reach more than 7.30 crore, comprising 4.37 crore on the Udyam portal and 2.92 crore informal micro enterprises on the Udyam Assist Platform, the register that determines MSME eligibility for priority-sector lending, guarantees and procurement set-asides.
Frequently asked
- What is Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises?
- The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises is the Union government's apex body for the policy, promotion and regulation of India's micro, small and medium enterprises. It administers the MSMED Act, 2006, runs the Udyam registration system that defines who counts as an MSME, and channels the credit-guarantee, cluster, khadi and artisan schemes through which the state supports a sector it counts as roughly 30 percent of GDP and the country's largest employer after agriculture.
- When was Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises established?
- Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises was established 2007-05-09.
- What does Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises do?
- Its remit covers Administering the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006, Operating the Udyam Registration portal and Udyam Assist Platform (enterprise classification and formalisation), Credit facilitation: the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE), Khadi, village and coir industries via KVIC and the Coir Board, Cluster development, technology upgradation and marketing support via the Office of the Development Commissioner (DC-MSME) and NSIC, Delayed-payment redress under the MSMED Act via the MSME Samadhaan mechanism, Skilling and employment schemes including PMEGP and PM Vishwakarma.
- What is the latest on Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises?
- As of 2026-07-06: Udyam and Udyam Assist registrations cross 7.3 crore enterprises. Cumulative registrations since 1 July 2020 reach more than 7.30 crore, comprising 4.37 crore on the Udyam portal and 2.92 crore informal micro enterprises on the Udyam Assist Platform, the register that determines MSME eligibility for priority-sector lending, guarantees and procurement set-asides.
Official sources
The government's own pages for this institution — go straight to the primary.
- Official website
msme.gov.in/
- Ministry of MSME site
Canonical ministry home: schemes, divisions, orders, budget allocation, publications
www.msme.gov.in/
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Attached office running MSME-DIs, technology and cluster development programmes
dcmsme.gov.in/
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Sole official free MSME registration system; source of Udyam registration counts
udyamregistration.gov.in/
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Filing and tracking of delayed-payment cases against buyers before MSEFCs
samadhaan.msme.gov.in/
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Ministry's official annual round-up of scheme performance and policy changes
www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2209712®=3&lang
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Parent Act: classification, MSEFC delayed-payment machinery, promotion measures
www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/2013