india.com : May 13, 2020, 05:17 PM
New Delhi: Addressing a press briefing on the details of the grand Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expanded on his vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and revised the definition of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).“Definition of MSMEs has been revised, investment limit to be revised upwards, additional criteria of turnover also being introduced,” the Finance Minister said. Under the new definition, the finance ministry changed the criteria for micro, small and medium manufacturing and services enterprise to aid small businesses come out of the financial loss faced due to the coronavirus lockdown.The finance ministry also removed the difference between manufacturing and service MSMEs.What are the new criteria for turnover size?A. For micro businesses – manufacturing and services, the investment limit has been revised to up to Rs 1 crore and the required turnover has been revised to Rs 5 crore.B. For small businesses, the investment limit has been revised to up to Rs 10 crore and the required turnover has been revised to Rs 50 crore.C. For medium businesses, the investment limit has been revised to up to Rs 20 crore and the required turnover has been revised to Rs 100 crore.Finance Minister Sitharaman also announced a major booster for MSMEs to resume business activities post the lockdown period. “In a major initiative, we announce Rs 3 lakh crores collateral-free automatic loans for businesses, including SMEs. Borrowers with up Rs 25Cr outstanding and Rs100 Cr turnover are eligible,” the minister said, adding that it would enable as many as 5 lakh MSME units to “resume business activity and also safeguard jobs”.