Rising operational costs, payment delays sink 1.2 lakh MSMEs: Shiv Sena (UBT) in 'Saamana'

The Shiv Sena UBT on Wednesday cited data presented by the Central government in the Lok Sabha to claim that more than 121 lakh Micro Small and Medium Enterprises MSMEs across the country have ceased operations over the past three yearsThe party alleged that the closures have resulted in largescale job losses and raised concerns over the health of the MSME sector which is considered a key contributor to Indias economyThe claims were made in an editorial published in the partys mouthpiece Saamana which argued that the figures contradict the governments assertions about industrial growth foreign investment and employment generationEditorial questions governments industrial growth claimsReferring to the data presented in Parliament the editorial said that 121805 MSME units shut down between 2024 and 2026 It claimed that the closures have affected employment across the country and cast doubt on the governments claims of attracting significant foreign investment and creating new jobs through industrial expansionThe editorial also criticised the Centres economic policies alleging that existing industries have struggled despite announcements of new investments and manufacturing projectsA sob story of industries closing the old and starting the new has been unfolding in the country for the last 12 years Under a regime that fills the minds of youth with religious fanaticism instead of placing jobs in their hands what else could possibly happen the editorial saidMaharashtra records highest number of MSME closures claims editorialAccording to the editorial Maharashtra reported the highest number of MSME closures during the period with 28764 units shutting down Tamil Nadu followed with 14176 closures while Gujarat recorded 11150 and Rajasthan 9881The party said these figures highlight the challenges facing small businesses despite repeated announcements of new industrial investments and economic growth initiativesThe MSME sector is widely regarded as one of the largest sources of employment in the country after agriculture and plays a significant role in manufacturing and exportsRising costs and payment delays cited as key challengesThe editorial claimed that although the government facilitated loans worth more than Rs 35 lakh crore to support startups and MSMEs over the past decade many businesses continue to face financial and operational difficultiesAccording to the Shiv Sena UBT rising operating costs limited access to affordable credit delayed bank financing pending payments from large corporations for supplied goods and delays in payments from government departments have contributed to the closure of many enterprisesKey factors contributing to earlystage business failure include inadequate or delayed access to bank credit at reasonable interest rates prolonged payment delays from large corporations for supplied goods and bureaucratic delays in releasing payments owed by government departments the editorial statedCalls for revival measures for struggling industriesThe editorial further argued that governments have focused on attracting fresh investments through international outreach including participation in events such as the World Economic Forum in Davos while not giving sufficient attention to reviving financially stressed industrial unitsReferring specifically to Maharashtra the party claimed that although more than 75 lakh new enterprises were registered over the past three years the state also witnessed the closure of over 28000 existing MSME unitsThe editorial alleged that the absence of dedicated rehabilitation programmes for struggling industries has contributed to rising nonperforming assets NPAs in the banking sector and job losses among workersIt further claimed that inadequate support for financially distressed enterprises has left many small businesses to cope without institutional assistance resulting in business closures loan defaults and employment losses