-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...

-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...

Are public sector banks (PSBs) important for the economy? Have the PSBs served the purpose for which they were created? Could the PSBs compete efficiently against the private sector banks (PVBs)? These are some of the questions, which have been answered by a chapter in the RBI Bulletin's August edition. Efficiency of PSBs Co-authored by Snehal S Herwadkar, Sonali Goel, and Rishuka Bansal (2022) of the Banking Research Division, Reserve Bank of...

-The Hindu Business Line Faster and more effective, Online Dispute Resolution has gained wide recognition from the judiciary, govt and business entities Contributing 29 per cent to India’s GDP and 40 per cent of India’s exports, 6.3 crore micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) provide employment to 21 per cent of India’s workforce translating into 80 million jobs. However, MSMEs continue to face serious issues and disputes relating to delayed payments that choke...