As per the Udyam Registration Portal (URP) of the Ministry of MSME, women-owned MSMEs constitute 20.5% of the total number of MSMEs registered on the Portal since its inception in 1^st July 2020.  These women-owned MSMEs’ contribution to the employment generated by the total Udyam registered units is 18.73%, involving 11.15% of the total investment. The contribution of the women-owned MSMEs to the total turnover of Udyam registered MSMEs is 10.22%.  As per the data on Udyam Assist Platform (UAP) which registers Informal Micro Enterprises (IMEs), the contribution of women-owned IMEs to the total number IMEs (since inception of Udyam Assist portal on 11.01.2023) is 70.49%, and their contribution to employment is 70.84%.

The details of the total number of women-owned MSMEs and their contribution to employment, investment and turnover as available on the URP and UAP is provided in Annexure–I. State-wise details of the same are provided in Annexure-II.

The Ministry of MSME has taken a number of steps to support women-owned MSMEs :

1. Special drives for registration of women owned MSMEs under Udyam Registration Portal.
2. To benefit women entrepreneurs, the Public Procurement Policy was amended in 2018 mandating Central Ministries/Departments/ Undertakings to procure at least 3% of their annual procurement from women-owned micro and small enterprises.
3. To support women entrepreneurs under Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro & Small Enterprises, two provisions have been introduced for women entrepreneurs w.e.f. 01.12.2022. These are:

1. 10% concession in annual Guarantee fees; and
2. 10 % additional Guarantee coverage of up to 85%, as against the 75% for other entrepreneurs.

4. To encourage entrepreneurship among women, Ministry of MSME implements ‘Skill Upgradation & Mahila Coir Yojana’ under Coir Vikas Yojana, which is an exclusive training program aimed at skill development of women artisans engaged in the Coir sector.
5. The Ministry also implements Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), which is a major credit-linked subsidy programme aimed at generating self-employment opportunities through establishment of micro enterprises in the non-farm sector. For beneficiaries belonging to special categories such as Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe/OBC /minorities/women/ ex-serviceman/ physically handicapped/ NER/ Hill and Border areas, etc., higher subsidy is given. 
6. To encourage participation of women entrepreneurs in trade fairs under Procurement & Marketing Support Scheme, higher subsidy is provided for women owned MSMEs.
7. “SAMARTH” initiative was launched to support women-owned MSMEs with the objective of providing Skill Development and Market Development Assistance to women and to train more than 7,500 women candidates from rural and sub-urban areas. Aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs have been provisioned with 20% Seats in free Skill Development Programs organized under Skill Development Schemes of the Ministry; 20% of MSME Business Delegations for domestic & international exhibitions under the schemes for Marketing Assistance implemented by Ministry; and 20% discount on annual processing fee on National Small Industries Corporation’s Scheme.
8. MSME Sustainable Zero Defect Zero Effect (ZED) Certification Scheme is an initiative to provide a roadmap to global competitiveness for Indian MSMEs having economic and social impacts in terms of capacity building of MSMEs. The aim of the scheme is that the goods being manufactured by the MSME sector have zero recall from market at the same time has zero effect on environment. Under this scheme to support and empower women entrepreneurs, there is a provision of 100% subsidy on cost of ZED Certification for Women owned MSMEs.
9. Under incubation component of MSME Innovative Scheme, a special MSME Idea Hackathon 3.0 was organised for Women entrepreneurs wherein 18,888 ideas have been received.

The Ministry of MSME implements the following capacity building programmes for capacity building and skill enhancement for MSMEs, including women entrepreneurs in MSMEs such as:

• Entrepreneurship Skill Development Programme (ESDP): The objective of ESDP is to promote new enterprises, to build capacity of existing MSMEs and to inculcate entrepreneurial culture in the country. About 40% of the targeted beneficiaries of ESDPs are mandated to be from weaker sections of the Society (SC/ST/Women/Physical Handicapped). No participation fee will be charged from SC, ST, Physical Handicapped, Below Poverty Line (BPL) participants and Women.

• Mahila Coir Yojana(MCY) aims at empowerment of women artisans in the coir sector by providing a stipendiary two-month training programme. The women artisans are encouraged to avail assistance under Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP).                                                       

Annexure – I

Contribution of Women-owned MSMEs to total MSMEs registered on Udyam Registration portal since Inception of the portal(1^st July 2020 to 31^st Jan 2024)

Contribution of Women-owned Informal Micro Enterprises (IMEs) to total IMEs registered on Udyam Assist Platform since Inception of the portal (11.01.2023 to 31.01.2024)

Annexure-II

This information was given by the Minister of State for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today.

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MJPS/NSK