The RBI has appointed an eight-member expert committee headed by former SEBI chairman U.K. Sinha to comprehensively review and propose long-term solutions for revival of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector.
Other members of the panel are Ram Mohan Mishra, Additional Secretary, Development Commissioner MSME; Pankaj Jain, Joint Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance; P. K. Gupta, Managing Director, SBI; Abhiman Das, Professor, IIM-Ahmedabad; Sharad Sharma, co-founder, iSPIRT Foundation; and Bindu Ananth, Chair, Dvara Trust. The committee will submit its report by the end of June 2019.
Among the terms of references, the RBI said the panel would review the current institutional framework in place to support the MSME sector, and examine the factors affecting the timely and adequate availability of finance to the sector.
Double whammy
The MSME sector has been facing stress due to the demonetisation exercise and implementation of GST.
The panel will also review existing MSME-focussed policies and their impact, and study the global best practices with respect to MSMEs and recommend their adoption in India. Meanwhile, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das tweeted that he would hold meetings with MSME associations and representatives of NBFCs next week.
