Mumbai, Nov. 10 -- The Self-Reliant India (SRI) Fund has leveraged nearly Rs. 480 bn in private investment and supported 824 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the Ministry of MSME said. The ministry held an awareness workshop in New Delhi on November 4 to promote women's entrepreneurship under the Yashashvini Campaign.

MSME Additional Secretary and Development Commissioner Rajneesh said the government had committed Rs. 100 bn to the fund, with a target of mobilising four times that amount from private investors. MSME Secretary Bharat Khera said registrations on the Udyam and Udyam Assist portals had crossed 100 mn as of October 30, 2026, helping reduce the sector's formalisation gap.

Women-owned enterprises accounted for 37.6 per cent of total registrations, and the ministry aims to increase their share to 50 per cent. Khera said commitments of Rs. 83.05 bn had been made against the fund's Rs. 100 bn corpus, while nearly Rs. 480 bn had been leveraged from private venture capital and private equity funds.

The fund, a fund-of-funds initiative launched under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package, has empanelled 72 daughter funds. These funds have invested Rs. 213.3 bn in 824 MSMEs, with micro enterprises accounting for approximately 74 per cent of the beneficiaries. Among the supported businesses, 77 had moved into a higher enterprise category, six had listed on stock exchanges and 32 investment exits had been completed profitably.

Daughter funds make investment decisions independently based on commercial considerations, including business viability, recent growth performance and plans showing positive cash flows. MSME credit outstanding has increased from about Rs. 1 tn in 2014 to more than Rs. 4 tn, while sectoral non-performing assets have fallen to about 3.5 per cent. The Union Budget 2026-27 allocated an additional Rs. 20 bn to the SRI Fund for micro enterprises, while a separate Rs. 100 bn SME Growth Fund will invest directly in small and medium enterprises. Entrepreneurs were advised to maintain financial records and adopt suitable legal structures to improve access to equity and debt.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.