Survive, revive, thrive: What the landmark reform to help retail, wholesale traders means

New Delhi, July 03: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today described as "landmark" the decision to include retail and wholesale trade as Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises or MSMEs, which will allow traders the benefits of priority sector lending, and said his government is committed to empowering the community.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had on Friday announced the inclusion of retail and wholesale trade under MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) as per which the traders will now get the benefit of priority sector lending under RBI guidelines.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister said, "Our government has taken a landmark step of including retail and wholesale trade as MSME. This will help crores of our traders get easier finance, various other benefits and also help boost their business. We are committed to empowering our traders."

What it means:

The move has an immediate impact on smaller retailers and wholesalers with businesses up to Rs 250 crore of turnover in availing immediate-term finance as part of various schemes announced under Atmanirbhar Bharat, official sources tell OneIndia.

Retail and trade associations welcomed the move, saying that this will enable traders to get access to much-needed capital having been impacted greatly due to the COVID19 pandemic. Several measures announced for the MSME sector over the past year will now be applicable to retail and wholesale traders as well.

This landmark decision will have a structural impact for the sector, helping it get formalised by giving better finance options for businesses that want to get structured. It will give retail MSMEs the support they need to survive, revive and thrive.