MSME Ministry to Facilitate Global Participation for Enterprises Under Special Scheme

The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) has announced the implementation of the "International Cooperation Scheme" to provide financial assistance to facilitate visits/participation of MSMEs in international exhibitions/fairs/buyer-seller meets and for organizing international conferences/seminars/workshops in India.

According to the Ministry, the scheme facilitates financial support to the first-time Micro & Small exporters on Registration-cum-Membership Certification (RCMC) with Export Promotion Councils (EPCs), Export Insurance Premium, and Testing & Quality Certification for exports. It is also poised to provide opportunities for MSMEs to scale and meet the challenges like changes in technology, changes in demand, emergence of new markets.

The Ministry also reported that during the last five years, 1,361 MSMEs have benefited from the scheme.

Under the Mission, support will be provided through 'Niryat Protsahan', which focuses on trade finance facilitation for MSME exporters, and 'Niryat Disha', to provide non-financial enablers that enhance market readiness and competitiveness including export-quality and compliance support, assistance for international branding, and participation in trade fairs, export warehousing and logistics, inland transport reimbursements, and trade intelligence and capacity building initiatives.

According to the Ministry, the Micro and Small Enterprises Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP) is aimed at productivity and market readiness of MSEs for their holistic development, adopting a cluster approach. The Government is also providing financial assistance to establish Common Facility Centres (CFCs) in existing clusters and for setting up new / up-gradation of existing Industrial Areas/Estates/Flatted Factory Complex.

During the last five years, 190 projects have been approved through the program, including 82 Common Facility Centres (CFCs) and 108 Infrastructure Development (ID) Projects under Cluster Development initiatives.

According to the Ministry's data, recent trends in MSME exports show that the contribution from this sector in overall merchandise export has risen from 45.74 per cent in 2023-24 to 48.55 per cent in 2024-25 (USD value terms).