New Delhi, Mar 17 (KNN) Delayed payments continue to pose a major challenge for micro and small enterprises, affecting their working capital and overall viability, the government informed the Rajya Sabha.
Minister of State for MSME Shobha Karandlaje said delayed payments remain a key concern impacting the growth of Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs).
According to data from the MSME Samadhaan Portal, a total of 2,56,892 cases involving Rs 55,244.26 crore had been filed by MSEs till December 2025. Of this, Rs 22,096.62 crore remains outstanding.
Dues reported by Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) on the portal stood at Rs 21,137.88 crore till February 2026, of which Rs 18,731.45 crore has been paid, leaving pending dues of Rs 2,406.46 crore.
The government noted that under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006, payments to MSEs must be made within 45 days. To address disputes, Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Councils (MSEFCs) have been established across states and Union Territories.
To streamline dispute resolution, the government launched the Samadhaan Portal in 2017 for filing and tracking delayed payment cases, which are referred to MSEFCs for resolution.
Further strengthening the mechanism, an MSME Online Dispute Resolution Portal was launched on June 27, 2025, as a digital platform for faster, cost-effective and transparent resolution of disputes. All new cases since October 15, 2025 are being filed through this platform.
To ease working capital constraints, the government has mandated onboarding of large companies and CPSEs on the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) platform, which facilitates invoice discounting for MSMEs through multiple financiers.
In the Union Budget 2026–27, additional measures were announced to strengthen TReDS, including making it the default settlement platform for CPSE procurement from MSMEs, introducing credit guarantee support, integrating it with the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), and enabling securitisation of receivables to improve liquidity.
The initiatives aim to accelerate payments, improve credit access and strengthen the financial position of MSMEs.
(KNN Bureau)
2012-01-26
