IREDA Committed To Increase Participation Of MSMEs In The Green Energy Sector
The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) is committed to increase participation of MSMEs in the green energy sector by offering more loans, IREDA Chairman and Managing Director Pradip Kumar Das said while addressing the MSME Banking Conclave 2022.
During the event, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad lauded the efforts of the IREDA for the overall development of the renewable energy sector.
Das said while MSMEs only represent 1.86 per cent of the company’s total loan assets of INR 33,884 crore (as of May 2022), the IREDA is attempting to address the issues of MSMEs in order to increase their participation in the renewable energy (RE) sector.
He emphasised that the target of 500 GW of RE capacity by 2030 cannot be achieved without the considerable participation of MSMEs, and therefore, their efforts will be a crucial driver of Aatmnirbhar Bharat.
He further said he is quite confident that India will easily achieve the target of 50 per cent share of energy from non-fossil fuels and also the 500 GW RE capacity before the deadline of 2030 set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A major barrier for MSME entrepreneurs is the inability to get loans with reasonable interest rates, but the IREDA has significantly improved the ease of doing business in terms of faceless loan sanctions and disbursements, reduction in loan sanction, documentation and disbursement cycle, and increased geographical footprint in the country, added Das.
He also highlighted that despite the second and third waves of the pandemic, the IREDA reported all-time high annual profit after tax of Rs 634 crore and profit before tax of Rs 834 crore in 2021-22, registering a massive growth of 82.88 per cent and 46.41 per cent, respectively over 2020-21.
He said the company is committed to addressing the adverse effects of climate change and reducing pollution levels through financing support for RE projects.
Government Policies
The Government of India has designed various policies for the growth of MSMEs in the country.
As of March 2022, the number of loans sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) scheme was 48.92 million and the amount disbursed was INR 3,02,948.49 crore (USD 39.90 billion).
In the Union Budget of 2022-23 MSMEs sector was allocated an Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) of INR 50,000 crore (USD 6.55 billion).
On March 30 2022, the Indian government allocated INR 6,062.45 crore (USD 808 million) for the scheme Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP). The programme aims to improve market and credit access, strengthen institutions and governance at the centre and state levels, improve centre-state connections and partnerships, resolve late payment difficulties, and green MSMEs.
In November 2021, the Indian government launched the Special Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (SCLCSS) for the services sector. This scheme will help enterprises in the services sector meet various technology requirements.
In September 2021, Union Minister for MSMEs, Narayan Rane introduced ‘India Export Initiative’ and ‘IndiaXports 2021 Portal’. This initiative will help exports reach its INR 2,928,000 crore (USD 400 billion) target by the end of FY22 and further push it to INR 7,320,000 crore (USD 1 trillion) by FY27.
