Union Budget 2024: Empowering MSMEs And Women Entrepreneurs

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced significant measures for the MSME sector in the Union Budget 2024-25, including a Rs 100 crore Credit Guarantee scheme for MSMEs. This scheme, supported by a self-financing guarantee fund, will provide term loans without collateral, aiding machinery and equipment purchases.

Public sector banks will build in-house credit assessment capabilities. The budget also includes doubling the MUDRA loan limit for the Tarun category, reducing the TReDS platform onboarding threshold, expanding SIDBI branches to cover more MSME clusters, developing e-commerce export hubs, and setting up food irradiation units and quality testing labs to bolster MSME growth and competitiveness.

Suchita Vishnoi, Co-Founder & CMO of GatewAI, praised the budget’s transformative step towards empowering women and enhancing their role in India’s economic landscape. GatewAI commends the government’s commitment to advancing women through initiatives like the provision of ₹30 crore in Mudra Yojana loans, aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and providing financial support to women entrepreneurs.

This move will ease the path for women to start and scale their businesses. The focus on STEM education, with girls and women constituting 43% of enrollments, reflects a progressive approach to bridging the gender gap in technology and innovation sectors. The Lakhpati Didi schemes exemplify the government’s dedication to transforming women’s economic status and promoting financial independence.

Varun Tangri, Founder & CEO of QueueBuster POS, commended the government’s decision to increase the Mudra loan limit for MSMEs from ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh, which will empower the retail sector significantly. This enhancement will provide over 63 million MSMEs across India with greater access to vital financial resources, enabling businesses to invest in cutting-edge retail technology. Additionally, the abolition of the angel tax on investors will bolster the Indian start-up ecosystem and fuel innovation and entrepreneurship nationwide, fostering a more robust and dynamic business environment.