Finally,someone is talking sense about the MSME situation in India . An engineering body,EEPC India,has asked government to create a separate rating system just for them,and honestly,it's about time.
They made this representation on June 3,2026 . The whole point is that you can't judge a small workshop with same scale you use for massive corporation. It just doesn't work.
And Pankaj Chadha,the Chairman of EEPC India,said it perfectly. He pointed out that many MSMEs can't get good investment-grade ratings because they are being benchmarked against giants like JSW and Tata Steel . Of course they will fall short ah .
This directly creates huge problem for them . They end up with these sub-investment-grade ratings which means banks won't give them loans easily. Or they ask for massive collateral which these small businesses just don't have .
And tbh,this is where the whole system feels broken.
This situation basically stops them from growing,even when they have potential. It's like asking a school cricket team to compete against national team and then wondering why they lost.
Some key points from their argument:
- Need for a separate rating system — Current ratings disadvantage MSMEs by comparing them to larger firms.
- Impact on funding — Sub-investment-grade ratings hinder MSMEs' access to necessary loans.
- Economic significance of MSMEs — They contribute nearly one-third of India's manufacturing output and 45% of merchandise exports .
So EEPC India has officially recommended that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should be one to create a totally new rating framework . One that actually understands the size and operational style of MSMEs.
And this isn't some small,niche sector we are talking about . A recent report showed that credit exposure to MSMEs went up to around ₹46 lakh crore by April 2026 . That’s a 12.8% growth from last year. This sector is growing because of domestic demand and government policies,so imagine how much faster it could grow with fair access to money .
But now real question is whether the government will actually listen and act on this . It sounds logical,it sounds necessary,but these things can take forever to change…
