Piyush Goyal Urges India Inc To Pay MSMEs On Time, Localise Supply Chains To Avert Long-Term Risks

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday called on India Inc to show greater urgency in localising critical supply chains and ensuring timely payments to MSMEs, warning that over-concentration of global supply sources poses long-term risks to Indian industry.

Speaking at CII IndiaEdge 2025, Goyal said he still does not see enough movement from companies to diversify and indigenise supply chains for key products.

"The concentration of supply chains can be a long-term threat to industry. We have to respond much faster," he cautioned, urging firms to view localisation as a strategic necessity, not just an economic choice.

A major push, he said, must also come from industry in supporting smaller enterprises. "If MSMEs are flush with cash, it would boost growth," Goyal said, reiterating that delayed payments remain a structural drag on the economy.

Timely cash flows to MSMEs, he argued, are essential to strengthen manufacturing and job creation.

Goyal outlined the scale of transformation required to meet India’s growth ambitions.

Manufacturing, currently growing at around 9%, needs to accelerate to 12.5% annually for the sector to eventually reach 25% of India’s GDP, he said.

On the macroeconomic front, the Minister said he was "anxiously waiting" for the Monetary Policy Committee’s upcoming decision, following the strong Q2 GDP print and "never-seen-before low levels of inflation."

He also noted that 23 states have already put frameworks in place to implement the new labour codes, a reform designed to bring uniformity and modernisation in labour governance.

Alongside this, the government’s broader push for decriminalisation of business laws continues, with Goyal emphasising that reducing compliance burdens is a key pillar of ease of doing business.