The Union Budget 2026–27 announced the creation of a ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund to support the scaling of small and medium enterprises. The fund will incentivise enterprises based on select criteria, with the objective of developing high-growth firms.
Presenting the Budget in Parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government’s first priority is to accelerate and sustain economic growth by improving productivity and competitiveness while building resilience to global volatility. MSMEs were identified as a key driver of growth.
A three-pronged approach was proposed to support MSMEs. Under equity support, the Budget provides for the ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund and a ₹2,000 crore top-up to the Self-Reliant India Fund to continue risk capital support for micro enterprises.
Union Budget 2026: Key Governance Updates and Policy Highlights
On liquidity support, the Budget noted that over ₹7 lakh crore has been enabled for MSMEs through the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS). To expand its use, four measures were proposed: mandating TReDS for settlement of all MSME purchases by CPSEs; introducing credit guarantee support through CGTMSE for invoice discounting on TReDS; linking GeM with TReDS to share government procurement data with financiers; and allowing TReDS receivables to be issued as asset-backed securities to develop a secondary market.
For professional support, the government will facilitate institutions such as ICAI, ICSI and ICMAI to design short-term modular courses to train accredited para-professionals, termed ‘Corporate Mitras’, particularly in Tier-II and Tier-III towns, to help MSMEs meet compliance requirements at lower cost.
