The Indian MSME sector, which currently employs around 1.2 crore people, is expected to generate over two lakh new jobs by 2025 across various sectors such as e-commerce, logistics, and supply-chain management, according to a report released on Thursday.

The India-US CEO Forum's Working Group 7 (WG7) on Entrepreneurship, Inclusive Growth, and Promoting Small Businesses, along with the United Services Institute (USI) and CyberPeace Foundation, has launched a bilateral knowledge-sharing platform between India and the US.

The exporting sector, particularly, MSMEs, needs easy and low-cost credit, and marketing support to further boost the country's exports, Kumar said, adding early conclusion of free trade agreements such as with the UK and Oman will also help push the outbound shipments.

As per current regulations, if a payment is delayed by more than 45 days after the receipt of goods or services from an MSME supplier, the buyer is liable to pay compound interest with monthly rests to the supplier. Despite these provisions, the resolution of disputes and payment recovery procedures have been protracted, with cases sometimes extending over several years.

In a scathing attack on the Union Government, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge raised concerns about the fate of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) under the Modi regime.

According to Rajiv Chawla, Founder and Chairman of SME network IamSMEofIndia, invoices issued before April 1, 2023, and outstanding dues as of March 31, 2023, remain unaffected by the amendment. However, he clarified that payments made by March 31, 2024, would render expenses permissible, mitigating the impact of payment delays during the year or previous dues.

Modi asserted, that “Bharat Mart has the potential to play an important role in promoting exports of the micro, small, and medium (MSME) sectors of India by providing them an effective platform to reach out to international buyers in the Gulf, West Asia, Africa, and Eurasia"

"Govt. is promoting India as a global MICE destination to showcase India's MSME sector, traditional handicrafts, artisanal offerings, weavers and manufacturing prowess", said Union Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal