Pune’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector is likely to end the 2024 calendar year on a high as a survey by the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) has shown that more than 81 per cent of the respondents said they expect good growth. This positive outlook is bolstered by the fact that credit to the sector has seen a good year-on-year growth.
The industry and others hope that this growth will translate into job creation and job retention, both of which can help ease the unemployment woes in the district.
“In our survey, 81 per cent of the companies have said that they expect growth; only 9 per cent of the respondents have talked of degrowth,” Prashant Girbhane, director general of the MCCIA, said about the survey in which 108 companies participated.
Credit to MSMEs, as per the State Level Bankers Conference (SLBC), the apex body of bankers in the state, has shown a steady growth in the last three fiscals. In the 2021-22 financial year, 95 per cent of the Rs 2,49,138 crore target was disbursed in the state. In the 2022-23 and 2023-24 fiscal years, banks disbursed 120 and 117 per cent of their targets.
This year, till September 30, i.e. the second quarter of the 2024-25 financial year, banks have reported 68 per cent of target disbursal in the state with Pune district reporting 72 per cent disbursal. This higher credit flow, Girbhane said, was a sign of revival and robust growth in the sectors.
MSMEs are called the drivers of the economy and are major job creators. It is estimated that this sector accounts for 50 per cent of the jobs created. In Pune district alone, as per rough estimates, the sector employs over 5 lakh people.
Of the 108 companies that participated in the MCCIA survey, 37 per cent have a revenue growth of more than 20 per cent. Most of the companies that responded positively are in the electronics and defence manufacturing sector.
The question of whether credit uptake and positive outlook will result in job creation and job retention remains. “We have to see that the growth comes at a time when the sector is reporting increased sophistication in terms of production. The hope is that this growth spurt will result in some job creation on a general scale,” an MSME owner in Chakan said.
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