Indian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) need to improve product quality, adopt technology and strengthen their export capabilities to benefit from free trade agreements (FTAs) and changing global supply chains, MSME secretary Bharat Khera said on Tuesday. He was addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Global MSME Summit in New Delhi.

Khera said the government was pursuing a comprehensive strategy to improve the sector’s competitiveness. The approach focuses on five areas: formalisation, access to finance, technology adoption, export competitiveness, and entrepreneurship and skilling.

He said global supply chains were being reconfigured while technology was transforming business operations, requiring enterprises to respond with greater agility and resilience. Indian MSMEs also needed to ensure that their products and services met international quality standards as their presence in global markets expanded, while maintaining competitive pricing, consistent quality and reliable delivery schedules.

Khera said the country’s testing infrastructure needed to be expanded so that products and services complied with standards expected in international markets. He also stressed the importance of greater technology adoption, improved access to skills and finance, and stronger partnerships between the government and industry to support the sector’s transformation.

On formalisation, he said 98 mn enterprises had been registered on the Udyam platform. He also highlighted improved access to finance through initiatives such as the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS), which enables the discounting of trade receivables to support the working capital needs of enterprises. Khera said strengthening MSME competitiveness was essential to economic growth and the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.