MSMEs who shut shops during Covid are now afloat using financial initiatives: FM Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Rajya Sabha, during ongoing Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi. Credit: PTI Photo

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Friday dismissed allegations that more than two-thirds of small and medium businesses downed shutters during the pandemic.

The Opposition, citing a study of 2021, had said in Parliament during the discussion on Budget that nearly 67% of MSMEs had shut shops accusing the government of doing little on that.

"It was mentioned that 67% of MSMEs were shut but they failed to mention that the 67% of MSMEs were temporarily shut. "Obviously if the lockdown is there, won't they be shut," Sitharaman said replying to the discussion on Budget in Rajya Sabha, but added that they were currently afloat using a credit guarantee scheme provided by the government over the period of last two years.

On allegations that the rural employment guarantee programme MGNREGA was not allocated ample funds and attention in the Budget, she said MGNREGA was infested with ghost accounts, people not born were receiving money during the UPA government.

Also read: Union Budget 2022: MSMEs upset with eligibility criteria of credit guarantee scheme

"It is one thing to create a scheme, it is one thing to misuse a scheme, whereas what we are doing now is create and use it properly and transparently," she said.

India's economy suffered the biggest contraction because of the pandemic and therefore there was an attempt to make Stable, sustainable recovery an important motive in the Budget 2022-23.

Replying to issues related to the figures on economic growth being given by Economic Survey being different than those in the Budget speech, she said the Survey draws its source from one particular set of data, the government looks at advance estimate which comes just before the budget. The Advance estimate did not factor in Omicron when it was prepared. The government factored that in and therefore, the number was at variance.

Sitharaman said Union Budget 2022-23 is a visionary one and talks about stability and creating modern infrastructure for the coming 25 years.

"If the country does not have a vision for the next 25 years, it will suffer as it had suffered in the past 70 years," she said, mocking at UPA rule in the past.

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