-Financial Express The credit outstanding to industry stood at Rs 32.4 trillion as of September 23, according to the data. The banking sector lending to industry has picked up, led by disbursals to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector. Bank credit to industry improved 12.6% year-on-year in September, compared to a muted 1.7% growth in the same month last year, data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed. Banks’...

-Livemint.com Public support measures helped India’s small businesses survive the pandemic better than feared The robust recovery of India’s economy from the profound shock of the covid pandemic has expectedly triggered debates about the nature of this recovery. While our economic recovery, as reflected in various supply and demand indicators, is acknowledged by many unbiased observers, an examination of its inclusivity is necessary. As an immediate response to the pandemic, the government put...

-TheWeek.in Demand funding to recover from pandemic shock Indian businesses are bullish on the economy and India’s growth story, but could do with some help from the banking system. This was the message Indian businesses, especially those from the medium and small scale industries sector, have for the establishment. “When it comes to cost of capital, our banks have not done enough,” said Saket Dalmia, the new president of the PHD Chamber of...

-The Hindu Business Line Why access to capital for MSME entrepreneurs has the potential to alter India’s social fabric India’s social fabric has undergone a series of transformations since Independence. After the liberalisation of the economy in the 1990s, the market opened up and employment opportunities grew, as did the spending power and standard of living of the average Indian. As financial access grew, so did social mobility. However, certain sections have lagged...

-Ideas for India The share of bank credit extended to MSMEs increased dramatically during the pandemic. In this post, Harsh Vardhan discusses the the government guarantee of bank loans as a possible driver of this growth. He outlines the current policy of providing credit against collateral, and the constraints MSMEs face while borrowing– which leads to decreased investment and firm productivity. He argues that the learnings from the credit guarantee scheme...