Mumbai, May 27: The NITI Aayog on Monday released a report offering a comprehensive six-point road map for transforming India’s medium enterprises into future growth engines of the economy.The report highlights that medium enterprises comprise a mere 0.3 per cent of the country’s MSMEs but account for 40 per cent of the sector’s exports, and outlines targeted interventions to unlock their full potential.
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, the report states.
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. These include 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.
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.
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.
Development of sector-focussed testing and certification facilities to ease compliance and enhance product quality.
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).
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’.
The report, titled ‘Designing a Policy for Medium Enterprises.’ was launched by Suman Bery, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog in the presence of V.K. Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog and Arvind Virmani, Member, NITI Aayog.