Budget 2019: Govt looks at new payments portal for MSMEs to ease credit flow

Easing loan accessibility to MSMEs, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that under the interest subvention scheme, Rs 350 crore allocation is for 2% interest subvention to all GST registered MSMEs in the current year on all fresh and incremental loans.

Presenting the Budget in the Parliament today the minister said that government is looking at opening a payments portal for MSMEs so that bills and all payments can be taken care of on the same portal. "Government payments to suppliers and contractors are a major source of cash flow especially to MSMEs. Investment in MSMEs will receive a big boost if delays in payments are eliminated."

The minister also announced that pension benefits will be offered to 3 crore shopowners with annual turnover of less than Rs 1.5 crore under a new scheme called Pradhan Mantri Man Dhan scheme.