Nari Shakti at the heart of new India’s MSME revolution

The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam told the world that India’s women belong in its Parliament. The MSME policies of this government are telling the world that India’s women belong in its marketplaces, factories, export chains, innovation hubs, and boardrooms

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood before Parliament and championed the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in September 2023, reserving one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislatures for women, he articulated a conviction that India cannot rise unless its women rise with it. That same intent is visible every single day in the work done by the Government in the MSME sector.

The MSME sector is often called the backbone of India’s economy. But if we look closely, at its heart stands the quiet force of women entrepreneurs. Today, that quiet force is finally receiving the national recognition, institutional support, and policy momentum it has always deserved.

The numbers tell the story

The scale of women’s participation in India’s MSME ecosystem is constantly expanding. As of early 2026, over 3.11 crore women-led enterprises are registered on the Udyam Registration Portal and the Udyam Assist Platform. As per these registrations, women-owned enterprises account for approximately 40 per cent of all registered MSMEs in the country and play a significant role in employment generation.

One of the most consequential reforms for women entrepreneurs has been the simplification of registration through the Udyam Registration Portal. Fully online, paperless, and based on self-declaration, it removed the bureaucratic gatekeeping that disproportionately disadvantaged women. The Udyam Assist Platform, launched in January 2023, went further in reaching women in the informal economy who lacked PAN or GSTN and brought them within the ambit of Priority Sector Lending and government scheme benefits.

This is the direct result of a government that chose to place women at the centre of its economic agenda as drivers of growth.

Nari Shakti as an economic force

Prime Minister Modi has consistently emphasised that empowering women is not merely a social obligation but a national strategy. In his words, when women are empowered, families are empowered, and when families are empowered, the nation grows from strength to strength.

The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam is the most visible expression of this philosophy in the political sphere. In the economic sphere, especially in the MSME sector, the government’s commitment to women has been translated into a comprehensive, multi-pronged policy framework that addresses credit, skill, market access, recognition, and dignity.

A policy architecture built for women

The Ministry of MSME has systematically woven women’s empowerment into every major programme and scheme it runs. Together, they support entrepreneurs through key intervention categories on the supply side: access to technology, access to credit and finance, promotion of digitalisation, infrastructure support, formalisation and inclusion, access to markets, and industry-grade skilling.

Over 3.2 lakh women-owned enterprises have been supported under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) over the past five years. As per recent data, 39 per cent of all PMEGP beneficiaries are women, a testament to both the scheme’s design and women’s determination to build.

The Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) offers women borrowers enhanced guarantee cover of up to 90 per cent, making banks more willing to extend credit without collateral requirements.

Further, the Public Procurement Policy mandates that Central Ministries, Departments, and Public Sector Enterprises procure at least 3 per cent of their annual procurement from women-owned micro and small enterprises. This creates a guaranteed and predictable market for women entrepreneurs, thereby converting government spending into business growth. It is encouraging to note that in the financial year 2025-26, 3.5 per cent of total procurement by Central Ministries, Departments, and Public Sector Enterprises was from women MSMEs.

Under the ZED (Zero Defect Zero Effect) Certification Scheme, women-owned MSMEs receive 100 per cent subsidy on certification costs. These details matter, as they demonstrate a Ministry that has carefully identified the barriers women face and placed targeted support at those precise pressure points.

The Mahila Coir Yojana offers exclusive skill development and financial support to women artisans in the coir sector. Special focus is being given to handholding women for market preparedness through MSME-TEAM (Trade Enablement and Marketing), under which 50 per cent of its 5 lakh beneficiaries are targeted to be women.

The Yashasvini Campaign runs nationwide awareness drives to inform women about MSME schemes and registration benefits. Under the MSME Idea Hackathon 3.0, organised exclusively for women entrepreneurs, over 18,888 ideas were received, clearly reflecting a surge of creative and entrepreneurial energy.

Additionally, the Ministry has a dedicated Women Entrepreneurship Cell (WEC), which serves as the nodal point for advancing women’s entrepreneurship by coordinating across schemes, monitoring outcomes, and engaging with ecosystem stakeholders.

All these initiatives reflect a transition from viewing women’s inclusion as a subsidy component within individual schemes to building a comprehensive, gender-responsive entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Skill, confidence, and community

Beyond credit and markets, the government recognises that entrepreneurship is also about skill and confidence. In the North-East, where women have traditionally been the backbone of local economies, targeted Entrepreneurship Development Programmes have ensured that women form the majority of trained participants.

Self-Help Groups have been integrated with MSME support systems, creating communities of women entrepreneurs who support one another-building not just businesses but networks of collective strength. This is a government in forward motion. Each budget, each scheme, and each portal simplification is a building block in an edifice that Prime Minister Modi began constructing with a simple yet transformative premise-that India’s women are a potential to be unleashed.

The spirit of Nari Shakti in every enterprise

The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam told the world that India’s women belong in its Parliament. The MSME policies of this government are telling the world that India’s women belong in its marketplaces, factories, export chains, innovation hubs, and boardrooms. These are two expressions of the same truth that Prime Minister Modi has made the cornerstone of his vision for a Viksit Bharat by 2047. A developed India is one where more than 3 crore women entrepreneurs-and counting-form the very engine of development.

We are not there yet. But under this government’s watch, and with this Prime Minister’s commitment, we are unmistakably on our way.

We are not there yet. But under this government’s watch, and with this Prime Minister’s commitment, we are unmistakably on our way

The writer is Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Labour and Employment; Views presented are personal.