Credit and finance for MSMEs: Scheduled commercial banks in the country deployed Rs 8.43 lakh crore to retail and wholesale traders in July this year, up by 17.1 per cent from Rs 7.20 lakh crore deployed in July last year, as per the latest data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on bank credit deployment to various sectors. The YoY credit growth to retail and wholesale trade in July last year was 14.2 per cent from Rs 6.30 lakh crore deployed in July 2021.
While retail traders were deployed Rs 4.22 lakh crore in bank credit in July, up 19.3 per cent from Rs 3.53 lakh crore deployed in July 2022, wholesale traders (other than in food procurement) raised Rs 4.20 lakh crore in July, up by 14.9 per cent from Rs 3.66 lakh crore raised in July last year. The overall amount deployed to both wholesale and retail trade was 5.7 per cent of Rs 147.82 lakh crore deployed in total non-food credit deployed across sectors in July.
Also read: Banks deployed Rs 8.37 lakh crore credit to retail, wholesale trade in May: RBI data
In July 2021, the categorization of retail and wholesale trade was expanded to be included within the MSME definition, aiming to provide them with advantages like access to priority sector lending from banks. Consequently, retailers and wholesalers were required to complete their registration on the government’s MSME registration portal called Udyam.
Also read: Retailers, wholesalers top MSME registrations on Udyam portal: Govt data
According to the latest survey by retailers’ body Retailers Association of India (RAI), retail sales for the month of July witnessed a growth of 9 per cent year-on-year vis-a-vis 7 per cent in June. Southern India had showed a 12 per cent growth in sales, followed by Western India with 9 per cent growth. Northern and Eastern parts witnessed a 7 per cent growth each during July this year. In terms of categories, Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) and Food & Grocery reported a growth of 15 per cent and 14 per cent respectively followed by jewellery (12 per cent) and sports goods (11 per cent).