Credit and finance for MSMEs: On a month-on-month basis, dues cleared in May were 10.1 per cent higher than Rs 628.96 crore paid to MSMEs in April 2023.
Credit and finance for MSMEs: Steel CPSEs (central public sector enterprises) under the Ministry of Steel cleared Rs 692.36 crore in payment to MSMEs during May, 35.6 per cent higher than Rs 510.53 crore paid in May 2022, said the latest monthly summary report of the ministry.
On a month-on-month basis, payments made in May were 10.1 per cent higher than Rs 628.96 crore paid to MSMEs in April 2023. Moreover, during April and May, Steel CPSEs made payments of Rs 1,321.32 crore to MSMEs, which was 23.8 per cent higher than Rs 1,067.53 crore made during the corresponding period last year, the May report noted.
“The status of pending payments to MSMEs by CPSEs of the Ministry is being monitored on weekly basis to ensure payments to them within the 45 days’ time limit for such payments,” it said.
During FY23, Steel CPSEs had made payments of Rs 7,673.95 crore to MSMEs, up 39.3 per cent from Rs 5,511.07 crore payment made during FY22, according to March 2023 summary report of the ministry.
According to the data from the MSME delayed payment monitoring portal MSME Samadhaan, 5,696 delayed payment applications were filed by micro and small enterprises so far against CPSEs across ministries since October 2017 when the portal was launched.
This included 152 applications against the Steel Authority of India, 37 applications against MECON Ltd., 35 against Rashtriya Ispat Nigam and 18 against NMDC Ltd., under the steel ministry.
Meanwhile, India had saved Rs 34,800 crore in foreign exchange in the past nine years (of Modi government) through government policies for the steel sector such as reducing imports. Moreover, around 60 million tonnes (MT) of crude steel capacity was also added, Steel minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said addressing a press conference ‘The 9-years of government’s Seva, Sushasan and Gareeb Kalyan focusing on steel sector’, according to a PTI report earlier this month. Also, India pushed Japan to third place to become the world’s second-largest steel producing nation, the minister said.
Importantly, Commerce minister Piyush Goyal in November last year had urged captains of the steel industry continue supporting MSME Industry and exporters of engineering products. The minister had also urged the steel industry to achieve the production target of 300 million tonnes by 2030.
The production of crude steel during April-May 2023 stood at 22.30 million tonnes (MT), finished steel at 21.48 MT and consumption of finished steel at 20.31 MT, the Steel Ministry’s report said.
