Over 3,000 MSMEs led by women have closed post Covid, according to official data.
News reports quoted the data presented in Rajya Sabha recently, revealing that 3,057 women-led micro, small and medium size enterprises shut down between July 2020 and February 2023. For the same period the data showed: 25.71 lakh MSMEs registered of around 1.38 crore total registrations on the Udyam portal were led by women entrepreneurs, said news reports.
Maharashtra leads the list with 861 closures, followed by Tamil Nadu (468), Gujarat (245), Uttar Pradesh (207), Rajasthan (180), to name some.
An overall, 17,126 MSMEs have closed since July 2020, including 175 in the remaining FY21, 6,222 in FY22, and 10,729 till February 3 in the current fiscal, revealed the data.
MSMEs are considered to be the backbone of the economy, and the ministry has acknowledged the challenges and barriers women face in the sector.
The portal says, “Many barriers to women’s empowerment and equity lie ingrained in cultural norms.” The ministry also takes an approach, which is a combination of rights, benefits and schemes.
