Launch of a new ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund to incentivize and scale promising enterprises.
NEW DELHI: Rusen Kumar, National President of the Ambedkar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), welcomed the Budget’s bold MSME push, stating: “This is particularly significant as MSMEs contribute nearly 30 per cent to India’s GDP and account for a major share of non-farm employment. The introduction of the Rs. 10,000 crore SME Growth Fund aims to create ‘Champion SMEs’ capable of scaling up operations, adopting advanced technologies, and competing in domestic as well as global markets.”
In a transformative move to elevate India’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) into global contenders, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a dedicated ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund in the Union Budget 2026-27. The fund targets high-potential enterprises, incentivizing them based on key criteria like productivity, innovation, and export readiness to build future champions.
Delivering her ninth straight Budget under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, Sitharaman reaffirmed the government’s action-driven ethos: “The Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decisively chosen action over ambivalence, reform over rhetoric, and people over populism.” Anchored in three core kartavyas (duties) — with the first focused on accelerating sustainable economic growth through higher productivity, competitiveness, and resilience to global shocks — the Budget places MSMEs, a cornerstone of GDP, manufacturing, and exports, front and center.
The comprehensive strategy unfolds in a three-pronged approach to champion MSMEs:
- Equity Support: Rusen Kumar highlighted the equity infusion’s importance for underrepresented entrepreneurs, noting that the ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund, combined with the ₹2,000 crore top-up to the Self-Reliant India Fund (set up in 2021), will ensure continued risk capital for micro enterprises and help marginalized businesses access growth opportunities.
- Liquidity Support: Leveraging the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS), which has already facilitated over ₹7 lakh crore for MSMEs, the Budget introduces four powerful measures:
- Mandate TReDS as the transaction settlement platform for all MSME purchases by Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), creating a model for private corporates.
- Provide credit guarantee support through CGTMSE for invoice discounting on TReDS.
- Integrate Government e-Marketplace (GeM) with TReDS to share government procurement data, enabling faster and cheaper financing.
- Treat TReDS receivables as asset-backed securities to build a secondary market, boosting liquidity and transaction settlements. Rusen Kumar emphasized that these steps will particularly benefit SC, ST, OBC, women, minority, and other marginalized entrepreneurs by reducing payment delays and improving cash flow in underserved regions.
- Professional Support: Addressing compliance challenges in Tier-II and Tier-III towns, the government will partner with bodies like ICAI, ICSI, and ICMAI to offer short-term modular courses and tools, building a network of accredited “Corporate Mitras” (para-professionals) to deliver affordable regulatory assistance to MSMEs. This initiative, as per Rusen Kumar, aligns with the Ambedkar Chamber’s mission to empower entrepreneurs from marginalized communities by making professional support accessible and cost-effective.
This forward-looking package reflects the government’s dedication to a self-reliant, export-driven economy, ensuring inclusive growth for the small enterprises that power India’s economic engine.
Ambedkar Chamber of Commerce and Industry Welcomes the Measures Rusen Kumar, National President of the Ambedkar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), which focuses on empowering entrepreneurs from SC, ST, OBC, women, minority, and other marginalized communities, hailed the Budget’s MSME focus as a step toward inclusive growth.
He welcomed the introduction of the Rs. 10,000 crore SME Growth Fund, stating that the initiative aims to create “Champion SMEs” capable of scaling up operations, adopting advanced technologies, and competing in domestic as well as global markets. “This is particularly significant as MSMEs contribute nearly 30 per cent to India’s GDP and account for a major share of non-farm employment,” Rusen Kumar said.
