Industry welcomes govt decision of including retail, wholesale trade under MSMEs

Inclusion of retail and wholesale trade under MSME is a “landmark and timely decision” that would help them avail requisite finances from banks and financial institutions under priority sector lending, industry leaders and associations said. This will go a long way in boosting retail sector, which has been hit by the pandemic and subsequent restrictions and provide required help, they added.

Earlier, on Friday, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced inclusion of retail and wholesale trade under MSMEs as per which they will also now get the benefit of priority sector lending under RBI guidelines.

“Now under the revised guidelines, retail and wholesale trade will also benefit from priority sector lending under RBI guidelines,” the MSME minister added.

METRO Cash & Carry India MD & CEO Arvind Mediratta termed it as a timely and welcome decision by the government to include retail & wholesale trade in the official MSME ecosystem, especially at a time when traditional trade has been reeling under the impact of COVID. This is a positive move to provide easier access to credit and loans to crores of retailers and wholesalers to modernise and expand their business. It will go a long way in boosting informal retail sector’s the contribution towards GDP & overall economic growth, he said.

A Flipkart spokesperson said: The government’s efforts to recognise them as MSMEs and extend benefits to them is a very welcoming move. According to the Retailers Association of India (RAI), this will give retail micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) the support they need to survive, revive and thrive.

This landmark decision will have a structural impact on the sector, helping it get formalised by giving better finance options for businesses that want to get structured, an RAI statement quoted CEO Kumar Rajagopalan as saying. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said after this decision, traders will fall under the MSME category and will be able to avail requisite finances from banks and financial institutions under priority secto lending.

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Besides, now the traders will be enjoying several other benefits of various other government schemes which are being enjoyed by the MSME category, said CAIT National President B C Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal.

The pandemic-affected traders will now be able to restore their businesses by obtaining necessary finances from banks which were earlier denied to them. This step of the government will prove to be a milestone step in reviving not only the economy but even the most vibrant retail trade of India, they added. In a tweet, Gadkari on Friday said the government is committed to strengthening MSMEs and make them engines of economic growth.

The revised guidelines will benefit 2.5 crore retail and wholesale traders. The move would also allow them to register on Udyam portal.