‘Champions’ in the making: SMEs get Rs 10k cr booster shot in Union Budget 2026

Recognising MSMEs as a vital engine of growth, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman outlined a three-pronged approach of equity, liquidity and professional support to help these entities grow as “Champions”. For this, she announced a Rs 10,000 crore dedicated SME Growth Fund, which will incentivise enterprises based on “select criteria”.The finance minister also proposed to top up the Self-Reliant India Fund set up in 2021, with Rs 2,000 crore to continue supporting micro enterprises and maintain their access to risk capital. To provide MSMEs liquidity support, the FM announced plans to leverage the full potential of Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS), an RBI-regulated digital platform that enables MSMEs to instantly discount their trade receivables (invoices) through competitive bidding by financiers. With TReDS, more than Rs 7 lakh crore has been made available to MSMEs.To leverage its full potential, FM announced four measures, including mandating TReDS as the transaction settlement platform for all purchases from MSMEs by CPSEs, serving as a benchmark for other corporates; and introducing a credit guarantee support mechanism through CGTMSE for invoice discounting on the TReDS platform.Sitharaman also proposed to link GeM (the government’s e-marketplace) with TReDS for sharing information with financiers about govt purchases from MSMEs and encouraging cheaper and quicker financing. It is also proposed to introduce TReDS receivables as asset-backed securities, helping develop a secondary market, enhancing liquidity and settlement of transactions. Sitharaman said, “Govt will facilitate professional institutions such as ICAI, ICSI, ICMAI to design short-term, modular courses and practical tools to develop a cadre of Corporate Mitras, especially in tier-II and tier-III towns.”These accredited paraprofessionals will help MSMEs meet compliance requirements at affordable costs.