C2FO, Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME) and Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) have jointly launched the Delayed Payments Report 3.0 titled ‘MSME’s Access to Finance and Timely Payments’. The report was unveiled yesterday in New Delhi in the presence of Shri. Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) to the Government of India, and Shri. Ateesh Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of MSME.
The report provides a comprehensive update on the ongoing and critical issue of delayed payments in India’s MSME ecosystem; spotlighting progress as well as remaining systemic challenges.
Key Highlights:
• Delayed payments to MSMEs have reduced to INR 7.34 lakh crore as of March 2024, down from ₹8.27 lakh crore in 2023 and ₹10.7 lakh crore in 2022, indicating a positive policy impact.
• Despite this progress, the value locked in delayed receivables still exceeds 4.6% of India’s GVA, constraining MSME working capital, credit access and growth.
• India’s 6.4 crore MSMEs form the backbone of the economy, with around one-third engaged in manufacturing, underscoring the systemic impact of payment delays on jobs and supply chains.
• Micro enterprises face payment delays nearly three times higher than larger firms, revealing deep structural imbalances in bargaining power.
• Over two lakh cases have been filed by MSMEs on the Samadhaan portal with delayed payment claims running into tens of thousands of crores, and more than half of these cases still at the application stage – highlighting enforcement and dispute resolution gaps.
• While MSME credit has grown across lenders over the last two financial years (with double‑digit growth in loans from private banks and NBFCs), asset quality pressures and stringent SMA classification norms are creating stress for otherwise viable MSMEs.
• The report recommends a multi-pronged agenda: scaling TReDS as the mainstream MSME invoice financing platform, stricter enforcement of Section 43Bh timelines and penalties, faster institutional arbitration and strengthened Facilitation Councils, SMA classification reform, and expansion of digital, cash-flow based credit using GSTN and UPI data.
The findings are grounded in extensive multi-city regional consultations (Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru and others) and a national roundtable with senior government officials, MSME associations, banks and legal experts.
Quotes from senior government officials including the CEA underscore that while momentum has been achieved, prioritised focus is essential to eradicate the chronic issue impacting India’s 6.4 crore MSMEs.
Attached is the detailed press release and report for your reference. Request you to kindly consider the same for coverage in your esteemed publication.
