RBI reviews flow of credit to MSMEs, delibrates on bridging credit gap

The RBI's Standing Advisory Committee (SAC) reviewed the flow of credit to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises on Friday at its meeting held in Lucknow, a central bank said in a release.

The 28th meeting of SAC was chaired by RBI Deputy Governor Swaminathan J, and attended by senior officials from ministries of MSME and finance.

"During the meeting, the SAC reviewed the flow of credit to MSMEs and deliberated on issues related to assessing and bridging the credit gap for the sector, exploring digital solutions for improved credit linkage, accelerating adoption of TReDS, credit support to women entrepreneurs, revival and rehabilitation of stressed MSMEs, and credit guarantee schemes, among others," the RBI said.

The deputy governor in his keynote address emphasised the significant role of the MSME sector, particularly in the context of the goal of attaining developed economy status by 2047.

He stressed the need for collaborative efforts on the part of all stakeholders to unlock the full potential of MSMEs.

Swaminathan highlighted various initiatives taken by the RBI such as the Account Aggregator (AA) framework, the digital Public Tech Platform to enable delivery of frictionless credit and the regulatory sandbox on MSME lending.

He also dwelt on the important role of industry associations in information dissemination and capacity building among MSMEs, the RBI said.

Chairman of SIDBI, Executive Director of RBI, senior management of major banks and NABARD, senior executives of credit guarantee fund trust for micro and small enterprises, National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited, Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Indian Banks' Association and MSME Associations, too participated in the meeting.