BG (7-13)

7. National Single Window System

Recently, Jammu & Kashmir became the first Union Territory to be onboarded with the
National Single Window System (NSWS).
This marks a major leap in Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) in the Union Territory.
NSWS is linked with India Industrial Land Bank (IILB) which hosts 45 industrial parks of
J&K. This will help Investors to discover available land parcels in J&K.
What is the National Single Window System?
The platform was soft-launched in September 2021 by the Ministry of Commerce and
Industry.
It is a one-stop digital platform that aims at allowing investors to apply for various
pre-operations approvals required for commencing a business in the country.
It makes the business registration process easier, allowing the beneficiary to get
significant approvals online, without having to run to the government offices for
approvals, and can avail themselves of services with just a click.
What is the Significance?
It would become a “one-stop shop” for state and Central government compliances and
bring transparency, accountability, and responsiveness to the ecosystem.
It will also offer a Know Your Approvals service to inform businesses of the details of all
the approvals they need to obtain as well as a common registration form, document
repository, and e-communication module.
It will provide strength to other schemes e.g. Make in India, Startup India, PLI scheme,
etc.

9. Digitalization
Digital India was an initiative taken by the Government of India for providing high-speed
internet networks to rural areas. Digital India Mission was launched by PM Narendra
Modi on 1st July 2015 as a beneficiary to other government schemes including Make in
India, Bharatmala, Sagarmala, Startup India, BharatNet, and Standup India.
Digital India Mission is mainly focused on three areas:
1. Providing digital infrastructure as a source of utility to every citizen.
2. Governance and services on demand.
3. To look after the digital empowerment of every citizen.
Digital India aims to provide the much-needed thrust to the nine pillars of growth areas.
Each of these areas is a complex program in itself and cuts across multiple Ministries
and Departments. The nine pillars of Digital India are given below:
1. Broadband Highways– This covers three sub-components, namely Broadband
for – Rural, Broadband for – Urban, and National Information Infrastructure (NII).
 2. Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity- This initiative focuses on network
penetration and filling the gaps in connectivity in the country.
3. Public Internet Access Programme- The two sub-components of the Public
Internet Access Programme are Common Services Centres (CSCs) and Post
Offices as multi-service centers.
4. e-Governance- Reforming Government through Technology- Government
Process Re-engineering using IT to simplify and make the government
processes more efficient is critical for transformation to make the delivery of
government services more effective across various government domains and
therefore needs to be implemented by all Ministries/ Departments.
5. e-Kranti – Electronic Delivery of Services- To improve the delivery of public
services and simplify the process of accessing them. In this regard, several
e-governance initiatives have been undertaken by various State Governments
and Central Ministries to usher in an era of e-Government. e-Governance in India
has steadily evolved from the computerization of Government Departments to
initiatives that encapsulate the finer points of Governance, such as citizen
centricity, service orientation, and transparency.
6. Information for All- This pillar aims to ensure transparency and availability of
reliable data generated by the line ministries for use, reuse, and redistribution for
the people of India.
7. Electronics Manufacturing- This pillar focuses on promoting electronics
manufacturing in the country.
8. IT for Jobs- This pillar focuses on providing training to the youth in the skills
required for availing employment opportunities in the IT/ITES sector.
9. Early Harvest Programmes- This pillar consists of a group of different short-term
projects which have an immediate effect on the Indian digital ecosystem like an
IT platform for mass messaging, crowd Sourcing of eGreetings, biometric
attendance in government offices, WI-FI in all universities, etc.
The motto of the Digital India Mission is ‘Power to Empower. There are three core
components to the Digital India initiative. They are digital infrastructure creation, digital
delivery of services, and digital literacy.
The major objectives of this initiative are listed below:
1. To provide high-speed internet in all gram panchayats.
2. To provide easy access to Common Service Centre (CSC) in all the locality.
3. Digital India is an initiative that combines a large number of ideas and thoughts
into a single, comprehensive vision so that each of them is seen as part of a
larger goal.
4. The Digital India Programme also focuses on restructuring many existing
schemes that can be implemented in a synchronized manner.
Digital India Mission is an initiative that encompasses plans to connect the rural areas of
the country with high-speed internet networks. The public Internet Access Programme is
one of the nine pillars of digital India. On the platform of digital adoption, India ranks
amongst the top 2 countries globally and the digital economy of India is likely to cross
$1 trillion by the year 2022.
Some of the advantages of Digital India are: -
1. There is an increase in electronic transactions related to e-governance.
2. An optical fiber network of 2, 74,246 km has connected over 1.15 lakh Gram
Panchayats under the Bharat Net program.
3. A Common Service Center (CSC) is created under the National e-Governance
Project of the Indian government which provides access to information and
communication technology (ICT). Through computer and Internet access, the
CSCs provide multimedia content related to e-governance, education, health,
telemedicine, entertainment, and other government and private services.
4. Establishment of digital villages along with well-equipped facilities such as solar
lighting, LED assembly unit, sanitary napkin production unit, and Wi-Fi couple.
5. Internet data is used as a major tool for the delivery of services and urban
internet penetration has reached 64%.
The government of India has taken an initiative through the Digital India Mission to
connect the rural areas of the country with high-speed internet networks. Apart from the
various initiatives taken by Digital India, there are several challenges faced by it.
Some of the challenges and drawbacks of Digital Mission are mentioned below: -
1. The daily internet speed, as well as the Wi-Fi hotspots, are slow as compared to
other developed nations.
2. Most of the small and medium-scale
3. industries have to struggle a lot for adapting to the new modern technology.
4. Limited capability of entry-level smartphones for smooth internet access.
5. Lack of skilled manpower in the field of digital technology.
6. To look for about one million cybersecurity experts to check and monitor the
growing menace of digital crime.
7. Lack of user education.
Digital India Initiatives
The Government has taken up many initiatives under the Digital India campaign.
Discussed below are a few such important initiatives:
1. DigiLockers – This flagship initiative aims at ‘Digital Empowerment’ of the citizen
by providing access to authentic digital documents to citizen’s digital document
wallet
2. E-Hospitals – It is a Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) which is a
one-stop solution for connecting patients, hospitals, and doctors through a single
 digital platform. Till February 2021, as many as 420 e-Hospitals had been
established under the Digital India campaign
3. E-Pathshala – Developed by NCERT, e-Pathshala showcases and disseminates
all educational e-resources including textbooks, audio, video, periodicals, and a
variety of other print and non-print materials through the website and mobile app
4. BHIM – Bharat Interface for Money is an app that makes payment transactions
simple, easy, and quick using a Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
Impact of Digital India Campaign
Since its launch in 2015, the Digital India campaign has left an impact on various fields:
1. Around 12000 post office branches in rural areas have been linked electronically.
2. The Make in India initiative has improved the electronic manufacturing sector in
India
3. Digital India plan could boost GDP up to $1 trillion by 2025.
4. Healthcare and education sector has also seen a boost.
5. Improvement in online infrastructure will enhance the economy of the country.

10. Make in India

Make in India is a campaign, launched on September 25, 2014, by Prime Minister,
Narender Modi to bring back the straggling domestic manufacturing sector and revive
the economic downfall being faced by the country. The Make in India Project was built
with the vision to provide wings to various government schemes that can flourish the
growth of the Indian economy.
The fundamental objective behind the launch of Make in India was to come up with
unique ideas to bring the attention of international investors so that they can invest in
India and this would ultimately lead to the development of the manufacturing sector. The
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce
and Industry, Government of India, is leading the initiative with the following objectives
of Make in India-
1. Raising the manufacturing sector growth to 12-14% per year.
2. Create 100 million additional jobs in the manufacturing sector by 2022.
3. Enhance the manufacturing sector’s share in the GDP to 25% by 2022.
4. Creating required skill sets among the urban poor and the rural migrants to foster
inclusive growth.
5. A rise in the domestic value addition and technological depth in the
manufacturing sector.
6. Having environmentally-sustainable growth.
7. To promote export-led growth.
8. Augmenting the global competitiveness of the Indian manufacturing sector.
Since the Make in India project is unique, it was suggested that the project should be
marketized apart from the traditional manner. They stood with the vision to put forward
the idea of educating the masses about the project and making it a global success by:
1. Boosting the confidence among Indians about their capabilities.
2. Reaching out to a maximum number of the audience (both global and local)
using social media platforms. It involves updating them about the reforms and
possible opportunities.
3. Lastly, it provides the framework for the technical information related to 25
industrial sectors.
By far, the make in India initiative has considered working on 27 sectors (of these, 25
are listed on the official website). These sectors can be subdivided into two- the
Services sector and the manufacturing sector. The list of these sectors is as under:
Services Sectors Under Make in India Scheme
One of the major objectives of the Make in India scheme is the upgradation of the
services sectors to surge the Indian economy. The service sectors under the Make in
India project are:
1. Medical Value Travel
2. Audio Visual Services
3. Construction and Related Engineering Services
4. Education Services
5. Financial Services
6. Environmental Services
7. Legal Services
8. Communication Services
9. Accounting and Finance Services
10. Tourism and Hospitality Services
11. Information Technology & Information Technology enabled Services (IT &ITeS)
12. Transport and Logistics Services
Manufacturing Sectors under Make in India
The Make in India scheme focuses on the upliftment of the manufacturing sector
surging the number of investments. The manufacturing sectors under the Make in India
project are-
1. Construction
2. Bio-Technology
3. Aerospace and Defence
4. Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices
5. Textile and Apparel
6. Gems and Jewellery
7. Railways
8. Shipping
 9. Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM)
10. New and Renewable Energy
11. Food Processing
12. Chemicals and Petrochemicals
13. Capital Goods
14. Automotive and Auto Components
15. Leather & Footwear
Make in India Scheme
Make in India is one of the major national programs that aim to improve the industrial
segment, and to make it a success, the government of India has come up with certain
schemes. The schemes supporting the initiative are:
Skill India
India is an overpopulated country with most people struggling with unemployment. This
is one of the major drawbacks that lead to the lagging economy. Seeing the good in the
bad, the Indian government launched Skill India.
The Skill India scheme aims to skill more than 10 million people annually in different
sectors. The need of the hour is to look into the future possibilities and upskill the
available human resource.
This becomes important because the percentage of formally skilled workforce in India is
only 2% of the population.
Startup India
India has been a home of brilliant minds. From time to time, many people have come
forward with innovative startup ideas that have changed the world, which is why the
Startup India scheme was launched. The main idea behind this program is to build an
ecosystem that drives sustainable economic growth, fosters the growth of startups, and
creates large-scale employment.
Digital India
The 21st-century world is changing drastically with the introduction of blockchain and
web 3.0 technology, and so are people’s interests. Seeing the shift, the government has
come up with the scheme of Digital India. This aims to transform India into an educated
and digitally empowered economy competing rest of the world.
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) under the Make in India initiative is a
revolutionary financial inclusion program that concerns the assessment of financial
services, which includes remittances, insurance, credit, banking savings & deposit
accounts, and pension affordably in both rural and urban areas.
Smart Cities
To improve the infrastructure, the Smart cities scheme was launched. Its vision is to
reform and rejuvenate Indian cities by having a futuristic infrastructure that can call up
for tourism. The Indian government launched the scheme intending to build 100 smart
cities through several sub-initiatives.
AMRUT
It's 2022, and most Indian towns and cities still lack the basic amenities. AMRUT, or Atal
Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, is a scheme launched that aims to
build basic public amenities and make 500 cities in India more livable and inclusive.
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
To accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage and focus on the
country's poor sanitation ideology, Prime Minister launched this scheme. The idea is to
clean the country and promote basic sanitation and hygiene.
Sagarmala
India is surrounded by water from three sides and has a lot of ports. The Sagarmala
scheme aims to develop ports and promote port-led developments throughout the
country.
International Solar Alliance (ISA)
Solar energy is a renewable energy source with huge potential. International Solar
Alliance (ISA) is an alliance of 121 leading countries (most of them are called sunshine
countries). These countries lie either partly or completely between the Tropic of
Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. India’s initiative aims to promote research and
development in solar technology and formulate policies.
AGNII
Accelerating Growth of New India’s Innovation or AGNII is another initiative that was
launched with the idea of assisting commercialization with innovation.
Benefits of Make in India
Make in India has been a revolutionary initiative for the country’s progress. It has been a
project that has led to several positive impacts that include the country's development
by changing the economic condition of the Indian industries and manufacturing sector.
With this mission, India has by far enjoyed the following benefits-
1. The major unemployment problem has been resolved up to a limit by generating
new opportunities.
2. If FDI inflows increase, then the present condition of the Indian rupee will also get
a push.
3. By expanding economic growth, the GPD will also flourish.
4. The small manufacturers get the investment directly from the appropriate foreign
investors.
5. With foreign investment introduces, new technologies, ultimately leading to
growth and development.
6. Due to the various initiatives taken under the Mission, India has increased the
EoDB index ranks.
 7. The setting up of manufacturing sites and factories in rural areas has also led to
their development.
Make in India - Progress by far
Since the Make in India scheme was launched in 2014, the progress in such a short
time has been commendable. The project aimed to transform the manufacturing hub
and global design. The Governmental initiative has changed how people used to look at
the critical situation of the country’s economy.
The Make in India initiative is working successfully in the major sectors, including the
railways, defense, medical devices, and insurance. These sectors have been working
as the attraction center for Foreign Direct investment.
Not only this, various initiatives have been taken by the state government and the
ministries to improve the infrastructure. To get the best results out of the project, the
ministry has engaged with the World Bank groups to uplift the doing business
methodology.
To help the investors, a dedicated cell was formed along with the Make in India project
launch. The Investor Facilitation Cell (IFC) guides the investors through services like
execution, pre-investment phase, and after-care support. Along with this, Japan Plus
and Korean Plus were launched in October 2014 and June 2016.
Well, it's not only the FDI but a lot of other organizations were established like
single-brand retail, space, railways, defense, and manufacturing so that the investors
would get sufficient help whenever required. Various cities came up in coordination with
the corridors that helped industries to flourish to the maximum limit.
Achievements Of Make in India
The Make in India scheme has played an instrumental role in reviving the Indian
economy, flourishing digital technology, and upgrading infrastructural development.
Here is the list of the achievements of the Make in India scheme and highlighting
success.
Indian aim of being digitalized has gained a lot of momentum with the introduction of
advanced technology and high-speed internet. Taxation, company incorporation, and
many other processes have been made online, easing the overall process and
improving efficiency. This has upped India’s rank in the EoDB index. BharatNet is a
telecom infrastructure provider set up by the GOI to enhance digital networks in rural
areas of the country. This is perhaps the world’s largest rural broadband project.
With the introduction of GST, the tax demand for business has been resolved up to a
limit. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been a revolutionary introduction under
the Make in India project.
A million new bank accounts have been opened after the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan
Yojana (PMJDY). This scheme has been a model for financial inclusion in India.
The new insolvency code namely, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 integrated
all laws and rules relating to insolvency into a single legislation. This has taken the
bankruptcy code of India on par with global standards.
The Make in India has opened a way of hope among tons of youngsters dealing with the
serious issue of unemployment.
India’s EoDB index has become favorable after the FDI liberalization came up for the
nation’s help. Larger FDI inflows will create jobs, income, and investments.
The schemes like Sagarmala and Bharatmala have pushed infrastructural and
connectivity development.
India has achieved a milestone by ranking in 5th position in the world in installed
renewable energy capacity. Not only this, India has become the world’s 6th largest
country to harness solar energy and 4th when it comes to harnessing wind power.
FDI Improvements
Since the Make in India initiative is dependent on the FDI, it is necessary to know the
improvements in this section. The reports are as follows-
1. FDI had an increase in stats from $16 billion in 2013-14 to $36 billion in 2015-16,
but after this, its contribution has been stagnant.
2. For the manufacturing sector, the FDI has become weaker. In 2014-15, it was
$9.6 billion but in 2017-18, the stats came down to $7 billion.
3. For the service sector, the FDI is three times that of the manufacturing sector and
it is $23.5 billion.
Make in India Challenges
Though Make in India has been a successful project all over the country, there are
certain difficulties that the government and the manufacturing units had to face
throughout. The major challenges that came in the way to the success of the Make in
India initiative are-
Since India is a land of agriculture, it is understood that more than 60% of the land is
cultivable. However, the manufacturing sites are bad for the agriculture industry. Setting
up a huge infrastructure for manufacturing goods can cause permanent damage to the
agricultural segment.
The rapid shift toward industrialization is said to cause damage to natural resources and
in the worst-case scenario, it can lead to depletion.
A fallout of inviting large-scale FDI is that local farmers and small entrepreneurs may
not be able to face the competition from international players.
Since the initiative is mainly focused on the manufacturing of goods (both local and on a
global scale as well), its large-scale production can lead to pollution.
The other developed countries like China, the USA, and Japan have been a threat to
the project as they have developed infrastructure which is one of the necessities for
producing goods on a large scale and India lacks in this segment.
8. Amrit Kaal
Recently, the Minister of Finance presented the Union Budget 2022-23. With this
Budget, India has marked 75 years of Independence through Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
Apart from this, the budget also lays down a plan for the next 25 years and refers to the
same period as Amrit Kaal.
India has entered into Amrit Kaal, the 25-year-long leadup to India@100. During the
Amrit Kaal, the government aims to attain the following vision:
Complementing the macro-economic level growth focus with a microeconomic level
all-inclusive welfare focus.
Promoting digital economy & fintech, technology-enabled development, energy
transition, and climate action.
Relying on a virtuous cycle starting from private investment with public capital
investment helping to crowd-in private investment.
Blueprint of Amrit Kaal: Four Priorities:
1. PM GatiShakti
2. Inclusive Development
3. Productivity Enhancement & Investment, Sunrise Opportunities, Energy
Transition, and Climate Action
4. Financing of Investments

11. Gati Shakti

Recently, the Prime Minister of India urged State governments as well as the private
sector to adopt the Gati Shakti portal to plan infrastructure projects and develop special
economic zones.
About
1. The PM emphasized making the PM Gati-Shakti National Master Plan the base
for their projects and economic zones.
2. The government has made a $7.5 trillion capital allocation in the budget for
2022-23, as against $5.54 trillion last year.
3. In October 2021, the government announced the PM Gati Shakti program under
which a portal would be set up to bring 16 Ministries together for integrated
planning and implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects.
4. The portal is expected to be ready by March end.
5. More than 400 data layers are now available on the portal which gives
information on not just the existing and proposed infrastructure projects but also
on forest land and available industrial estate.
About Gati Shakti Master Plan
On India’s 75th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the
Centre will launch the ‘PM Gati Shakti Master Plan’, a Rs. 100 lakh-crore project for
developing ‘holistic infrastructure’.
It will incorporate the infrastructure schemes of various Ministries and State
Governments like Bharatmala, Sagarmala, inland waterways, dry/land ports, UDAN, etc.
Economic Zones like textile clusters, pharmaceutical clusters, defense corridors,
electronic parks, industrial corridors, fishing clusters, and Agri zones will be covered to
improve connectivity & make Indian businesses more competitive.
It will also leverage technology extensively including spatial planning tools with ISRO
imagery developed by BiSAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space
Applications and Geoinformatics).
It will also leverage technology extensively including spatial planning tools with ISRO
imagery developed by BiSAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space
Applications and Geoinformatics).
6 pillars of the Plan:
● Comprehensiveness:
It will include all the existing and planned initiatives of various Ministries and
Departments with one centralized portal.
Each Department will now have visibility of each other’s activities providing critical data
while planning & comprehensively executing projects.
● Prioritization:
Through this, different Departments will be able to prioritize their projects through
cross-sectoral interactions.
● Optimization:
The National Master Plan will assist different ministries in planning for projects after the
identification of critical gaps.
For the transportation of goods from one place to another, the plan will help in selecting
the most optimum route in terms of time and cost.
● Synchronization:
Individual Ministries and Departments often work in silos and there is a lack of
coordination in the planning and implementation of the project resulting in delays.
PM GatiShakti will help in synchronizing the activities of each department, as well as of
different layers of governance, holistically by ensuring coordination of work between
them.
● Analytical:
The plan will provide the entire data in one place with GIS-based spatial planning and
analytical tools having 200+ layers, enabling better visibility to the executing agency.
 ● Dynamic:
All Ministries and Departments will now be able to visualize, review and monitor the
progress of cross-sectoral projects, through the GIS platform, as the satellite imagery
will give on-ground progress periodically and the progress of the projects will be
updated regularly on the portal.
It will help in identifying the vital interventions for enhancing and updating the master
plan.
Significance
Institutional infrastructure:
The Centre's support in creating an institutional framework in a time-bound manner and
implementation of projects under the PM Gati Shakti national master plan for multimodal
connectivity will give a boost to the overall infrastructure of the country.
Ease of Living:
Endeavor to build Next Generation Infrastructure which improves Ease of Living as well
as Ease of Doing Business.
The multi-modal connectivity will provide integrated and seamless connectivity for the
movement of people, goods, and services from one mode of transport to another.
It will facilitate the last-mile connectivity of infrastructure and also reduce travel time for
people.
Information help with investing:
PM GatiShakti will provide the public and business community with information
regarding the upcoming connectivity projects, other business hubs, industrial areas, and
the surrounding environment.
This will enable the investors to plan their businesses at suitable locations leading to
enhanced synergies.
Utilization of resources:
It will create multiple employment opportunities and give a boost to the economy.
PM Gatishakti, will also lead to optimum utilization of the country's resources as
everyone will be able to make their plan with complete information. ‘Infrastructure-based
development’ will lead to an extraordinary increase in the strength of India’s economy,
creating many new possibilities for employment.
Improved competitiveness:
It will improve the global competitiveness of local products by cutting down the logistics
costs and improving the supply chains, and also ensure proper linkages for local
industry & consumers.
Reduce turnaround time:
Besides cutting logistics costs, the scheme is also aimed at increasing cargo handling
capacity and reducing the turnaround time at ports to boost trade.
Tourism:
Infrastructure was key to the development of tourism, including spiritual and medical
tourism .
Conclusion
Infrastructure development will play an important role in India’s aim to become a $5
trillion economy.
India is seeking the use of innovative technology and materials in road construction, and
is open to adopting guidelines for use of new materials and technology.

13. MSME
MSME stands for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises. This sector has emerged
vibrantly in the Indian Economy. MSMEs can be seen as complementary to large-scale
industries and contribute to a great percentage of the Indian economy, and
socioeconomic development of the country.
The MSME sector produces a wide range of products, from simple consumer goods to
high-precision, sophisticated finished products. The MSME sector contributes 29% to
the nation's GDP.
What is MSME?
Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) was introduced by the government
through the Micro Small Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006.
Micro Small and Medium Enterprises are engaged in the production, manufacturing,
processing, or preservation of goods and commodities subject to limits of investment.
The government revised the definition of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises in 2020
to boost its growth.
MSME's New Definition eliminates the distinction between manufacturing and services
enterprises and also increases the investment and annual turnover criteria for such
enterprises. The new definition of MSME was announced in the Atmnirbhar Bharat
package and expanded the investment and turnover limit.
MSME Classification
The classification of Micro, Small Medium Enterprises based on investment in plant and
machinery equipment are as follows:
1. Micro- the investment in plant and machinery equipment will not be more than 1
crore and annual turnovers will not be more than 5 crores.
2. Small- the investment in plant and machinery equipment will not be more than 10
crores and annual turnovers will not be more than 50 crores.
3. Medium- the investment in plant and machinery equipment is not more than 50
crore and the annual turnover is not more than 250 crore.
Importance of MSME in the Indian Economy
1. Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises play a vital role in the nation's economic
development.
2. Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises contribute to 29% of the Indian GDP, 45%
of manufacturing output, and about 40% of overall export and it employs over 11
crore people out of which 55% of employment happens in urban MSMEs which
make MSMEs the second largest employer after agriculture.
3. The Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises has the aim to increase
MSME's contribution to Indian GDP from 29% to 50% by 2025 to become a 5
trillion dollar economy.
4. MSMEs are also helping India by making it a manufacturing hub.
5. Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises also help in the upliftment of backward
people and in tackling poverty by generating employment in rural areas through
industrial development.
6. Khadi and Village Industries with low capital investment employ a large number
of women in rural India and help in the upliftment of rural and other backward
areas.
Limitations of MSME
1. Delay in payment even though the MSME Samadhan portal was set up to help
enable faster payments to India's micro small and medium enterprises.
2. Due to the lack of assets among micro small and medium enterprises such as
land and building etc., there is a huge credit gap. In 2018 approx 40% of micro
small and medium enterprises lending is done through the informal sector means
finding access to formal credit is still a challenge for MSMEs.
3. Although in just a decade the number of women-led MSMEs in India has jumped
from 2.15 lakh to 1.23 crore. They largely rely on informal sources and face a
financial gap of 158 billion dollars.
4. Delay in getting access to water and power connection in the remote area.
5. Most of the micro small and medium enterprise owners are not well educated
and are from poverty-hit regions.
6. Lack of skilled manpower and labor law compliances restrict the growth of the
sector resulting in a slower production process and compromise with product
quality.
7. Poor infrastructure for capacity building and poor marketing strategy.
8. Lack of modern technology, and modernization.
9. A study conducted by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) revealed
that due to the COVID-19 pandemic more than 50% of MSMEs were shut down
and there is also a drop in production and revenue.
10. The COVID-19 pandemic further increased the problems like delays in payments,
scarcity of raw material availability, high informality, etc.
Factors Leading to the Growth of MSME
1. To support micro, small and medium enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic,
the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry has recommended providing
soft loans to the micro, small and medium enterprises at lower interest rates of
3-4%.
2. Changing the mindset of the youth of India to become an entrepreneur and
generate jobs for others.
3. By integration with Global Value Chains (GVC) now micro, small, and medium
enterprises can produce quality goods and services which will increase their
acceptability in the global market.
4. The productivity of micro, small and medium enterprise players increases with
the help of campaigns like- Skill India, Digital India, Startup India, etc.
Government Schemes to Promote MSME
Udyam Portal- It is the portal that simplifies the process of registration of any
enterprises under the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) category.
Recently, the new guidelines of the government will make wholesale and retail
enterprises eligible for registration in Udyam Portal.
MSME Samadhan- An portal that empowers micro and small entrepreneurs to directly
register issues related to delayed payments by the Central Ministries/departments/
CPSEs/ State Government.
Credit Linked Capital Subsidy and Technology Upgradation Scheme (CLCS-TUS)-
A scheme for the up-gradation of Technology for micro, small and medium enterprises.
Interest Subvention Scheme- For the incremental credit to micro, small and medium
enterprises.
Micro and Small Enterprises Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP)- An
credit guarantee scheme.
A Scheme for Promoting Innovation, Ruler Industry and Entrepreneurship
(ASPIRE)- Helping in reducing unemployment and promoting a culture of excellence in
entrepreneurship.
Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI)- With the help
of the latest modern technology regenerates the traditional industry in a systematic way
to make them competitive by enhancing their productivity and product quality.
Other Initiatives for MSME
Recently Central Sector assisted by the World Bank scheme Raising and Accelerating
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Performance (RAMP) has been launched under
the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) for supporting various
COVID-19 Resilience and Recovery Intervention with the recommendation in the line
made by UK Sinha committee, KV Kamath committee, and Prime Minister Economic
Advisory Council.
Online portal 'Champion'- It is a grievance redressal mechanism in micro, small and
medium enterprises.
ZED Certification Scheme- It is a Zero Defect and Zero Effect practice to improve the
product quality of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by indirectly
supporting the Make in India initiative.

12. Virtual Augmented Reality in E-Commerce Business

Retail presents several opportunities for AR, particularly when it comes to e-commerce.
As much as people have gotten used to the idea of e-commerce, there are still some
purchases for which we need a little bit more contextual information. That can be a
barrier to selling certain product categories online.
Augmented Reality in Ecommerce Statistics
Augmented reality technology is starting to take off, and advertisers — in retail or
otherwise — are taking notice. Let’s look at some of the numbers to prove it:
1. Global AR advertising revenue, which topped out at half a billion dollars in 2019,
grew to $1.41 billion in 2020.
2. One AR research firm projects that advertising revenue could top $8 billion by the
end of 2024.
3. eMarketer estimated that more than 43 million people in the U.S. would use
social network AR at least once a month in 2020. That’s almost 21% of social
network users.
4. Overall, more than 83 million people in the U.S. will use AR on some kind of
device at least once per month, and eMarketer expects this number to rise to
95.1 million by 2022.
5. As of June 2020, 35% of U.S. respondents said they’d used AR to visualize
furniture or vehicle customizations.
6. A June 2020 survey of U.S. retailers showed that 20% expected to invest in AR
or VR for their company’s online store, up from just 8% six months prior.
7. 5G availability is expected to increase retailer interest in AR and VR
experimentation because of the improvement in bandwidth.
AR allows e-commerce customers to preview products or experience services in their
environment and on their own time, before electing to make a purchase. Using AR, your
customers can preview products and be more likely to pick the right product the first
time.
1. Virtual try-on solutions.
Shoppers want to know what they’re getting and take every precaution for it to be what
they want. And if they do take the chance to buy and it doesn’t work out, return rates will
go up.
AR helps online shoppers understand what they’re buying and how the items will work
for them. There are applications like this for clothing, makeup, accessories, and even
eyeglasses.
2. Preview placement.
Preview placement gives customers a real-time glimpse of what a product will look like
when placed in their environment.
3. Interactive user manuals.
An interactive user manual responds to user actions, providing on-page contextual
support when using a piece of software, website, or application. Many AR user manual
apps scan the product and indicate the buttons in the real-life environment using
graphical arrows and animations with text.
4. Social media filters.
If you’ve used Instagram Stories or Snapchat lately, you may have used an AR filter.
These filters were once used just for fun, but over the years there’s been a rise in the
number of brands jumping on the AR bandwagon through social media filters.
Here are some of the benefits:
1. It’s a great way to showcase a new product by enabling people to test out how
it’ll look on them.
2. The novelty factor of AR filters can help boost audience engagement and
encourage people to tag you in their content.
3. The “wow” factor can help you stand out from the crowd of brands on social
media and showcase what makes you special.