FROM LOCAL HANDS TO GLOBAL HUBS: HOW INDIA'S MSMES CAN LEAD THE NEXT GLOBAL MANUFACTURING WAVE

For decades, India's Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have been spoken of in the language of smallness small in scale, small in resources, small in reach.

- NAGENDER PARASHAR

Yet, behind this modest label lies India’s most powerful economic engine, one that contributes nearly 29% to the GDP, accounts for 40% of exports, and employs over 60% of the workforce. Today, as global supply chains search for trusted, diversified partners, it is not subsidies or slogans that will define India’s leadership in manufacturing it is strategy, speed, and scientific thinking at the MSME level.

The recently released NITI Aayog report titled “Designing a Policy for Medium Enterprises” marks a pivotal moment in India’s industrial policy thinking. It acknowledges a truth long overlooked that the real growth engine within the MSME ecosystem lies in the medium segment, a category often overshadowed by the narrative of micro and small enterprises. While 97% of registered MSMEs are micro, 2.7% small, and a mere 0.3% medium, this slender slice of 0.3% contributes nearly 40% of MSME exports. These medium enterprises are not just participants in the economy they are potential champions of India’s transition toward self-reliance and global competitiveness under Viksit Bharat @2047.

Yet, despite their promise, these enterprises remain under-leveraged due to structural and systemic barriers limited access to tailored finance, weak R&D linkages, a lack of modern testing infrastructure, and skill mismatches between training programs and enterprise needs. The report offers a pragmatic and forward-looking blueprint to address these gaps, proposing six targeted interventions that could redefine the industrial landscape if implemented with urgency and precision.