JAMMU: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Jammu, has called for strengthening institutional credit support, promoting formalisation of enterprises and improving market access for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The emphasis was laid at the 72nd meeting of the Empowered Committee on MSMEs for the two Union Territories, held at the RBI’s Jammu office to review the sector’s performance for the quarter ended September 30, 2026.
The meeting was chaired by Prabhakar Jha, Regional Director, RBI, Jammu, and attended by representatives of government departments, banks, financial institutions and industry associations.
In his inaugural address, Jha highlighted the contribution of the MSME sector to India’s economic growth and its potential for employment generation and entrepreneurship in the two Union Territories. He identified handicrafts, handloom, food processing, horticulture and tourism as sectors offering significant opportunities for MSME development.
He urged banks to step up efforts to expand institutional credit, facilitate enterprise formalisation and improve market access. He also stressed wider adoption of Udyam Registration, Udyam Assist and the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS), besides improving coverage under credit guarantee schemes.
The Committee reviewed the flow of credit to MSMEs, district-wise credit deployment and progress against targets under the MSME Annual Credit Plan 2026-27. Other issues examined included the availability of collateral-free loans, non-performing assets (NPAs) and coverage under the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE).
Progress under government-sponsored schemes, including the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM-SVANidhi), Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) and PM Vishwakarma, was also reviewed.
The meeting further discussed implementation of the framework for revival and rehabilitation of stressed MSME units, delays in taking credit decisions on loan applications of up to Rs 25 lakh from micro and small enterprise borrowers, and the availability of banking facilities in MSME clusters.
Participating banks and stakeholders assured the Committee of follow-up action on the issues and suggestions raised during the meeting to improve credit flow and strengthen the MSME ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
