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A substantial 41 per cent or 14,97,959 units of the over 36 lakh Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Maharashtra, are currently operational in the Mumbai and Pune regions. This concentration leaves the rest of the state grappling with a lack of economic activity in the MSME sector.
The Centre’s data shows that 36,69,345 MSMEs were registered on the Udyam Registration Portal in the first week of December; Pune region has registered 5,58,799 MSMEs, followed by Thane (4,00,352), Mumbai suburban (2,88,389) and Mumbai (2,50,419).
The majority of districts in Vidarbha and Marathwada regions, which face perennial agrarian distress, have just one per cent of the MSMEs in the State. Only Nagpur and Aurangabad districts in these regions have urbanised pockets, with over 1,50,000 MSMEs. Washim, Hingoli, Nandurbar and Gadchiroli with a substantial tribal population, have less than 20,000 registered MSMEs.
Recently, Union Minister for MSMEs, Narayan Rane, who comes from Maharashtra, announced that the MSME sector has achieved a significant milestone by generating over 15 crore employment opportunities in India. Rane’s home town Sindhudurg in Konkan region of Maharashtra has registered 26,549 MSME units.
Growth Map
Despite the aspirations outlined in the 2019 Industrial Policy to maintain the State’s pre-eminent position in attracting industrial investments and fostering a favourable business environment across the State, data reveals growth has been concentrated in the Mumbai and Pune regions. The policy, aimed at ensuring substantial employment through the promotion of MSMEs and fostering inclusive, regionally balanced, and environmentally sustainable growth, seems to face challenges in its implementation.
A state government official acknowledged that efforts to promote MSMEs in other areas have not yielded the desired results. Consequently, new MSMEs are emerging in regions already abundant with such enterprises.
Political Will
“This concentration has led to unplanned growth in Mumbai and Pune, accompanied by significant migration from other parts of the State and the country. Unfortunately, the remaining regions within the State struggle to generate employment due to a limited number of MSMEs,” said industrialist Prashant Pawar.
“There is a lack of political will in the leaders in the region. Pune and Mumbai leaders run away with all the major schemes and grab every opportunity to get new projects. As the result, these regions have developed rapidly. This is not the case with other parts of the State,” says Devkanya Patil, an entrepreneur from the Marathwada region.
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