India has witnessed a surge of over 1.84 crores of registered women-owned Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), with 39 per cent of registered owners on the Udyam and Udyam Assist Platform since their launch in 2020 and 2023 respectively. Union Minister of MSMEs, Jitan Ram Manjhi mentions that the government has taken numerous significant initiatives to boost their participation.
In order to boost participation, the 2018 amendment of the Public Procurement Policy requires central ministries and departments to procure at least 3 per cent of their annual procurement from women entrepreneurs, offering increased guarantee coverage of a 10 per cent concession in annual guarantee fees. The Minister of MSMEs mentioned, "Number of women-owned MSMEs as of July 23, 2024 is 1,84,59,809."
The Udyam Assist Platform (UAP), launched by the Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in India, supports informal micro enterprises (IMEs) by facilitating online registration and generating Udyam Registration Numbers and Udyam Assist Certificates. Implemented by SIDBI, the platform allows IMEs without a GSTN to register. By registering in Udyam, the MSMEs receive concessions on energy bills, lower bank interest rates, IPS subsidies, internal fair participation, tax exemptions, easy licensing and certification, and efficient license verification by authorities, thereby reducing operational costs and enhancing networking opportunities.
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