The total count of MSMEs shut since Covid has crossed the 75,000 mark. The annual number has jumped to 35,567 as of February 28 in the current financial year from 19,828 closures in FY24; 13,290 in FY23; 6,222 in FY22; and 175 in FY21 since July 2020 after the launch of the government’s Udyam registration portal. The data was shared by Shobha Karandlaje, Minister of State in the MSME Ministry in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
As of March 17, 2025, 75,082 MSMEs registered on the Udyam portal were shut.
The total count of closed units was 0.12 per cent of 6.1 crore MSMEs registered on the portal. Maximum closures in the current fiscal were recorded in Maharashtra with 8,472 units shut followed by 4,412 units closed in Tamil Nadu, 3,148 in Gujarat, 2,989 in Rajasthan, and 2,010 in Karnataka.
“Udyam Registration Portal was launched on 01.07.2020 with the revised criteria for classification of MSMEs. As on February 28, the total number of MSMEs registered in all India on the Udyam Registration Portal and Udyam Assist Platform was 6.05 crore while during the same period the total number of units deregistered due to shutdown was 75,082,” the minister said in her response.
Meanwhile, the government is looking at Rs 1-1.5 lakh crore credit guarantee cover in 2025-26 for MSMEs under the new Mutual Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs. The scheme offers 60 per cent guarantee cover by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) to member lending institutions (MLIs) for loan up to Rs 100 crore sanctioned to eligible MSMEs for purchase of equipment or machinery.
Earlier this month, NITI Aayog’s Vice Chairman Suman Bery had called for integrating MSMEs into larger supply chains to drive real competitiveness and achieve 7-8 per cent growth in the country, ANI had reported.
“Growth happens through innovation and gains from trade, but sustaining momentum is harder when you’re doing well. The challenge is to keep pushing forward -India’s corporate sector must step up, and MSMEs need to be integrated into larger supply chains to drive real competitiveness and achieve 7-8 per cent growth,” Berry said at a CII event.