The Modi government’s new paperless portal to ease MSME registration – Udyam Registration, launched on July 1, 2020, has crossed the 25-lakh-registration mark. As of March 22, 2021, the portal had registered 25,07,112 MSMEs. This was up nearly 130 percent from over 11 lakh registered MSMEs as of November 7, 2020, according to the data from the MSME Ministry. The data was shared by MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha recently. Udyam Registration was integrated with the Central Board of Direct Taxes and GST networks along with the public procurement portal Government e-Marketplace for end-to-end digital registration by MSMEs.
Importantly, the Reserve Bank of India had issued a circular in August last year for clarity on the registration of existing businesses under Entrepreneurs Memorandum (EM) part II and/or Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum (UAM). The central bank had said that existing EMs part II and/or UAMs of MSMEs obtained before June 30, 2020, will continue to remain valid till March 31, 2021. According to the ministry, businesses had asked for clarity on whether existing registrations would remain valid after the government’s June 26, 2020 notification on the classification of MSMEs as per the new definition and specification of the form and procedure for registration with effect from July 1, 2020.
For registration on the Udyam portal, MSMEs are not required to upload any documents or proof except the Aadhaar number for registration. The government has also organized a single-window system at Champions Control Rooms, which are set up at MSME Development Institutes across India, and district industries centers for facilitating the process. The portal will help the government in identifying the possible beneficiaries of various schemes and packages announced for MSMEs such as collateral-free credit, subordinated debt for distressed MSMEs, etc., and pass these benefits directly to them. This will also help in saving time and cost for small businesses.
