Nearly 2.46 lakh MSME jobs created post-demonetisation and GST: India SME Forum Survey

A recent survey by India SME Forum revealed that MSMEs in India created 2.46 lakh more jobs after the implementation of demonetisation and GST, reports ANI. To some extent, the MSME sector had welcomed the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), but demonetisation resulted in job losses in many MSMEs, the report added.

The data also showed that those who were retrenched were hired back by the MSMEs as the negative after effects of demonetisation and GST were found to be short-lived. Further, nearly two-thirds of MSMEs surveyed said they had hired a total of 2,46,416 people in the 18 months from April 2017 to September 2018.

Vinod Kumar, President, India SME Forum said, “MSMEs seem to have given a thumbs up to the government despite demonetisation as well as a few issues regarding the implementation of GST.  I am particularly intrigued by their buoyant mood and their job generation capability even in a market phase with subdued sentiments."

India SME Forum’s survey also recorded 62 percent of surveyed MSMEs saying that GST was the single biggest reform or that it made running a business easier. Only nine percent said that more work is needed to implement GST.  Data also revealed that 28 percent of MSMEs believed that GST was responsible for MSMEs going out of business or that GST made business tougher. The survey was conducted from October 2018 to December 2018, across 23 states, with 37,680 respondents.

However, a December 2018 survey by All India Manufacturers’ Organisation (AIMO) had found that MSMEs and traders have seen 35 lakh jobs lost in the past four-and-a-half years. The sector showed declining profits since 2014, and some reasons include demonetisation and GST rollout, the survey said.

The AIMO report had said that the sectors dominated by unorganised labour were the worst hit. These include tailors, cobblers, barbers, plumbers, floor workers, and other types of workforce in the dyeing, stitching, stone, tannery, plastic, and crackers units. The survey added that traders are shutting shop due to insurmountable competition from ecommerce sales.