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Prelims 2023 · Q71 · Industry & business policy

Consider the following statements with reference to India :

  1. 1.According to the 'Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006', the 'medium enterprises' are those with investments in plant and machinery between ₹ 15 crore and ₹ 25 crore.
  2. 2.All bank loans to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises qualify under the priority sector.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Show answer

Answer: B. Statement 1 is wrong: under the MSMED Act as revised by the 2020 notification, a medium enterprise had investment up to ₹50 crore and turnover up to ₹250 crore; ₹15 to 25 crore was never the limit. (The limits were raised again in 2025, to ₹125 crore and ₹500 crore.) Statement 2 is correct: under RBI's priority sector directions, all bank loans to MSMEs (as defined under the Act) count as priority sector lending. So 2 only.

Watch for: The MSME limits changed in 2020, so old or invented numbers can look right.

Why the other options are wrong
  • A. Wrong because the medium enterprise limit given is incorrect.
  • C. Wrong because statement 1 is false.
  • D. Wrong because statement 2 is correct.

Source to check: Ministry of MSME notification S.O. 2119(E), 26 June 2020; RBI Master Directions on Priority Sector Lending, 2020

Answer from the official UPSC key. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.