COVID-19 impact: 11,716 self-employed people committed suicide in 2020

Total 11,716 self-employed people took their own life in the year 2020 while 9,052 self-employed people committed suicide in the 2019, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) said in a written reply to a question by Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, cited by the MSME ministry, does not distinguish between suicides committed by MSME business owners and those by entrepreneurs.

As per the NCRB data, daily wage earners accounted for 24.6 per cent suicides in the country while 14.6 percent housewives took their own lives in 2020. On the other hand, 11.3 per cent self-employed persons committed suicides and 10.2 per cent unemployed people took the drastic step in the same year. In 2019, daily wage earners accounted for 23.4 per cent suicides and 15.4 per cent housewives killed themselves. 11.6 per cent self-employed persons and 10.1 per cent unemployed people took their lives in the same year.

The Ministry further cited a survey conducted by the National Small Industries Corporation Limited and said that out of the MSMEs surveyed, 91 per cent were functional while 9 per cent were shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Non-performing assets (NPAs) in the MSME sector

The MSME Ministry, headed by Narayan Rane, stated that RBI does not have a state-wise data on non-performing assets in the sector but it does have bank-wise NPA data for quarters ending March 2021, June 2021 and September 2021.

Total amount of disbursed loans stood at Rs 9,43,072.31 as of March 31, 2021 while the outstanding amount was Rs 2,96,872.81 crore and the total NPA amount stood at Rs 34,090.34 crore, as per the MSME ministry’s reply in the Lower House.

Gap between the sanctioned Mudra loans and disbursed Mudra loans

The Ministry of Finance’s Department of Financial Services (DFS) has also laid down the details of outstanding loans from 2015-16 to 2021-22. These details include the overall number of loans sanctioned, amount sanctioned and the amount disbursed to benefit MSMEs. Total amount of disbursed loans stood at Rs 10,28,879.98 crore as of March 31, 2020 while the outstanding amount was at Rs 3,91,285.03 and the total NPA amount was Rs 26,078.43 crore in the same period.

The DFS has also laid down state-wide data of loans sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) from April 8, 2015 to November 26, 2021. According to this data, the highest number of Mudra loans have been sanctioned to Tamil Nadu (Rs 1,73,432.48 crore); Karnataka (Rs 1,59,774.17 crore); Uttar Pradesh (Rs 1,51,059.88 crore); Maharashtra (Rs 1,44,685.32 crore); West Bengal (Rs 1,38,336.25 crore); and Bihar (Rs 1,27,717.71 crore).

Steps taken by the Government to support the MSME sector

The Government has taken several steps under the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan to support the MSME sector such as no global tenders for procurement upto Rs 200 crore and Rs 3 lakh crore worth collateral free automatic loans for business including MSMEs. The limit of the Rs 3 lakh crore has been enhanced to Rs 4.5 lakh crore. Other measures include Rs 20,000 crore subordinate debt for MSMEs, Rs 50,000 crore equity infusion through Self-Reliant India Fund, revised criteria for classifying MSMEs and new registration of MSMEs through ‘Udyam Registration’ for Ease of Doing Business.

“In addition to this, the Ministry of MSME, also supports the growth and development of MSME sector in the country through its ongoing regular schemes and programmes which include Prime Minister’s Employment Generation programme (PMEGP), Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI), A Scheme for Promoting Innovation, Rural Industry and Entrepreneurship (ASPIRE), Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises, Micro and Small Enterprises Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP) ,etc.”

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sanctioned loans worth Rs 2.82 lakh crore to MSMEs under its Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) in view of the financial burden caused by the coronavirus crisis. Under the ECLGS scheme, around 89 percent beneficiaries are MSMEs. The Government has also rolled out the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Subordinate Debt (CGSSD) to revive the MSMEs with stressed accounts.

As of December 2, guarantee worth Rs 81.58 crore has been extended to over 755 units. Under the CGSSD scheme, promoters of stressed MSMEs (SMA-2 and NPA accounts) eligible for restructuring as per RBI guidelines on lending institutions’ accounts will be provided credit facilities under the CGTMSE.

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