In a longstanding demand from trade and industry associations, Minister of MSMEs, Nitin Gadkari through a series of tweets today announced that orders have been issued to consider Retailers and wholesalers under the ambit of MSMEs. He also said that this inclusion also extends benefits of priority lending to them. 

“Under the leadership of PM Shri Narendra Modi ji, we are committed to strengthening of MSME and make them engines for economic growth. The revised guidelines will benefit 2.5 Cr Retail and Wholesale traders. Retail and Wholesale trade was left out of the ambit of MSME. Under the revised guidelines, MSME has issued an order to include retail and wholesale trade as MSME and extending them to the benefit of priority sector lending under RBI guidelines.” as shared by Nitin Gadkari on his Twitter. 

Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI) on the announcement pertaining to inclusion of retail and wholesale trades as MSMEs shared, “We thank Hon’ble Minister – MSME, Shri Nitin Gadkari for giving a patient ear to RAI to understand the plight of MSME retailers and delivering on the assurance he gave us during our virtual meet last year. This landmark decision will have a structural impact for the sector, helping it get formalized by giving better finance options for businesses that want to get structured. It will give retail MSMEs the support they need to survive, revive and thrive.”