MSME Secretary Bharat Kheda said late payments are a big problem for MSMEs, but the TReDS platform is a successful solution through invoice discounting. He told that transactions on this platform have increased four times and value has increased nine times.
New Delhi, [भारत] June 30 (ANI): According to MSME Secretary Bharat Kheda, delayed payments continue to adversely impact the cash flow and liquidity of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), but the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) has emerged as an effective mechanism to resolve the issue through invoice discounting.
“Delayed payments have a negative impact on the cash flow of MSMEs and create liquidity problems. TReDS has been a very successful model, and invoice discounting through the platform is a very good solution for delayed payments,” Kheda told ANI on the sidelines of CII’s MSME Rise Summit 2026 on Tuesday.
Explaining how the platform works, Kheda said that as soon as the invoices are uploaded on TReDS, financial institutions make advance payment and later recover the amount from the buyer.
He said the number of transactions on the platform has grown four times over the past few years, while the value of invoice discounting has increased nine times.
improving access to finance
Highlighting the government’s efforts to improve access to finance, Khera said credit given to the MSME sector has increased from about Rs 10 lakh crore in 2014 to Rs 37 lakh crore currently.
“Credit to the MSME sector has increased from about Rs 10 lakh crore in 2014 to Rs 37 lakh crore now,” he said.
Emergency Credit Guarantee Schemes
Kheda said the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) launched during the COVID-19 pandemic was highly successful in supporting MSMEs.
On similar lines, the government launched another emergency credit guarantee scheme in May following the West Asia crisis. Under the latest initiative, loans worth about Rs 2 lakh crore have been earmarked for the MSME sector with 100 per cent government credit guarantee. Kheda said banks are providing more than 20 per cent working capital limit to eligible MSMEs under the scheme, which has seen encouraging growth.
Share of MSMEs in public procurement
On public procurement, Kheda said the MSME Development Act mandates that 25 per cent of total public procurement should be made from MSMEs, including the share earmarked for enterprises owned by Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women entrepreneurs.
“Today, 50 per cent of the total public procurement is being sourced from the MSME sector. This is a figure for 2025-26, which is very encouraging,” he said.
Khera said the government is working to integrate the TReDS platform with the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) so that discounts can also be given on invoices generated through public procurement, thereby enabling faster payments to MSMEs.
benefits from free trade agreements
On free trade agreements (FTAs), Khera said the entire industry benefits from such agreements and MSMEs, which are the backbone of the industry, will also benefit.
He said that the FTA has a dedicated chapter with enabling provisions for MSMEs and urged MSMEs to take full advantage of these agreements to expand their exports and trade. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet News editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)