IMPACT OF COVID –19 ON SMALL BUSINESS IN INDIA

Studies and surveys showed that approximately 95% firms were impacted negatively due to national lockdown imposed
in April 2020, 70% of businesses remained disrupted till August 2020. Even after progressive unlocking, reports
suggest that almost 40% businesses remained interrupted till the end of February 2021. One of the prime drivers behind
growth story of Indian economy is SMEs. over the past few decades, SME sector, comprising of service industry,
manufacturing, packaging, infrastructure, food processing, IT and chemicals has developed as the most dynamic source
of growth of Indian economy. In recent years the MSMEs sector has shown higher growth rate than industrial sector. This
sector not only offers huge employment but also contributes in regional balance by generating industrialisation to remote
rural and backward areas. According to MSME Ministry data released on May 16, 2021, there are around 6.3 crore
MSMEs in India which contributes approximately 29% towards country’s GDP by its national and international trade.
This sector account for nearly 50 per cent of the country’s exports. As per national sample survey 73 Round (2015-16)
MSME sector has offered around 11.10 crore jobs out of which 3.6 crore have been in manufacturing sector, 3.9 crore in
trade and 3.7 crore in other services. Considering all these facts and figures, it is quite understood that for achieving the
target of becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2025 growth of SMEs is crucial for India. The MSMEs sector has been one
of the most vulnerable sectors during pandemic because of its size, scale of business and availability of financial
resources..