New Delhi, Nov 21 (IANS) The total number of new jobs created by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country has gone up by close to 10 crore in the last 15 months, official data recorded on the government’s Udyam portal showed.

According to the figures, the number of registered MSMEs has now gone up to 5.49 crore from 2.33 crore in August last year while the number of jobs reported by these enterprises has shot up to 23.14 crore from 13.15 crore during this period.

The total employment also included 2.84 crore jobs by 2.38 crore informal micro units registered with the government through Udyam certification and 5.23 crore women employment. Out of the total registered units, 5.41 crore are micro enterprises while small enterprises are 7.27 lakh and medium enterprises are only 68,682.

The budget has also accorded high priority to micro small and medium enterprises as they have the capacity to create a large number of jobs.

The Union Budget 2024-25 allocated Rs 22,137.95 crore to the MSME Ministry which was a 41.6 per cent increase from the previous fiscal year. The budget included a number of initiatives to support MSMEs, including a new scheme to provide term loans to manufacturing MSMEs without collateral or a third-party guarantee

The limit for Mudra loans was increased to Rs 20 lakh for entrepreneurs who have repaid previous loans under the “Tarun” category. The turnover threshold for buyers was lowered from Rs 500 crore to Rs 250 crore.

Financial support for establishing food irradiation units and food quality and safety testing labs. Besides, public sector banks were asked to develop in-house capabilities to assess MSMEs for credit, using digital footprint scoring.

The budget also recognised the importance of digital transformation for MSMEs, with only 6 per cent of MSMEs actively selling on e-commerce platforms.

The Finance Minister said, "to facilitate term loans for MSMEs for the purchase of machinery and equipment without collateral and guarantee, a new scheme will be introduced. This guarantee fund will provide guarantees of up to Rs 100 crore."