Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asked the private sector to clear dues of micro, small and medium enterprises within 45 days.
Conceding that the central and state governments, and state-owned enterprises, have outstanding dues to the MSME sector, Sitharaman said the private sector also has dues to such small businesses from where it avails goods and services.
Sitharaman said she appealed to big businesses, during a meeting two days ago, to ensure that the dues of smaller businesses -- which are the backbone of the economy -- are cleared on time.
"The private sector and industry should commit to make the payments in 45 days along with the books of accounts filed with Registrar of Companies which make mention of outstanding dues. The private sector should also be ahead in this issue,” the minister said at an event organised by Laghu Udyog Bharati, the affiliate of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh devoted to small businesses.
Sitharaman said that the central government will also take steps to resolve the issue by ensuring that departments and central public sector enterprises make the payments to small businesses in 90 days.
The minister also appealed to state governments and the public sector enterprises, which they run, to clear the dues in time.
Stating that her ministerial colleagues also frequently bring up the issue of accumulation of dues of MSMEs, Sitharaman highlighted the government schemes like TREDS (trade receivables discounting system) platform and also the Samadhan portal.
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