RBI sets up MSME expert committee under ex-SEBI chief UK Sinha
Seeking to identify long-term solutions for the economic and financial sustainability of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday set up an eight-member expert committee under former Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairman UK Sinha, reported PTI.
The panel will be headed by Sinha but will also comprise other stakeholders such as Ram Mohan Mishra, Additional Secretary, Development Commissioner MSME; Pankaj Jain, Joint Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance; PK Gupta, Managing Director, SBI; Anup Bagchi, Executive Director, ICICI Bank, and more.
In a statement, the RBI said, "Considering the importance of MSMEs in the Indian economy, it is essential to understand the structural bottlenecks and factors affecting the performance of the sector.” It added that the committee will submit its report by the end of June 2019.
The committee will review current institutional frameworks to support the MSME sector and will examine the impact of recent economic reforms on the sector. It will also study factors affecting the timely and adequate availability of finance to the sector, and also review existing MSME-focussed policies and their impact on the sector. It will then propose measures for leveraging technology to accelerate MSME growth.
The move comes one day after the central bank allowed recasting of loans to stressed MSMEs, under the condition that the total fund and non-fund based exposure to the MSME borrowers does not exceed Rs 25 crore.
The issue of restructuring of MSME accounts was initially discussed in the RBI board meeting on November 19. At the meeting, the central board, which met amid the ongoing tussle between the Finance Ministry and the central bank over various issues, discussed the restructuring scheme for stressed MSMEs.