The central government is taking several schemes to promote and develop the MSME sector. Certain programmes have been undertaken for the welfare of the micro, small and medium enterprises. One such initiative is the Udyam Registration Portal, which was undertaken to simply the process of registering a firm as an MSME. The registration through the portal has crossed 25 Lakh so far. As per the data shared by Union MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari in Rajya Sabha, a total of  25,07,112 firms have been registered as the micro, small or medium enterprises on the Udyam Registration Portal till March 22, 2021. In November the registration toll stood at 11 lakh. Udyam Registration Portal: GSTIN No Longer Mandatory for Registering MSMEs.

Launched in July last year, the portal aimed to eliminate the excessive paperwork involved in the registering process, making it more efficient and streamlined. The objective of the portal is to provide a single-page registration, consume less time and simplify registering process for MSMEs. The portal has been welcomed by the various existing MSMEs and the business owners who have been planning to get their firms registered under the sector. It has made the process of registration from transparent and user friendly. MSMEs in India: Over 11 Lakh MSMEs Registered So Far on Udyam Online System Since July; Here’s How You Can Register Your MSME Online.

Recently, the government also did away the need to have a GSTIN to register the firm as MSME through the Udyam Portal, following the complaints and criticism from the various groups and business owners in the sector. The business owners can now register under the MSME sector through the portal by using their PAN (Permanent Account Number) cards only,  the GSTIN is no longer a mandatory requirement for the same. It also aims to support several  micro-enterprises, including skilled craftsmen and artisans and other enterprises in the informal sector and unorganised sector, by easing the process of registration.