Kerala currently has the lowest rate of closure of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) of 12%, which is lower than national and global averages, Industries Minister P. Rajeeve has said. Refuting media reports regarding the high closure rate of MSMEs, he said on Monday that the rate of closure of MSMEs in the State has fallen considerably ever since the launch of the State government’s Year of Entrepreneurship programme.
The MSME closure rate had come down to 15% in the first year after the implementation of the programme and further to 9% in the second year, taking the average rate of closure since the launch of the scheme to 12%.
According to the data released by the World Economic Forum, the global rate of closure of MSMEs is 67%. At the national level, there is a trend of 30% to 40% of enterprises closing down. Right from the beginning of the Entrepreneurship Year programme, the government had made it clear that its focus is on reducing the closure rate, he said
Mr. Rajeeve said that Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal had said in his reply to a question in the Lok Sabha that only 1,753 MSMEs were closed in Kerala from 2021 to 2024. The Union Minister also stated that more enterprises were closed in States like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. Only Kerala has released sustainability reports of enterprises, he said.
Published – March 03, 2025 07:53 pm IST