Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Aug. 7: The Lok Sabha on Friday passed the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill, 2026 without a debate amid protests by Opposition members, completing its passage through Parliament.

The Bill, which was approved by the Rajya Sabha on Aug. 3, aims to strengthen the MSME sector by improving the administrative framework and introducing measures to address delayed payments to micro, small and medium enterprises.

The legislation provides for stricter timelines to ensure faster adjudication of payment disputes, facilitates the recovery of settlement agreements and seeks to ease liquidity issues faced by MSMEs due to delayed payments.

A key provision empowers courts to direct buyers to pay at least 50 per cent of the amount awarded to an MSME supplier if an application seeking to set aside the order remains pending for more than six months.

According to official data, MSMEs contribute around 31 per cent to India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), account for 36 per cent of manufacturing output and contribute 41 per cent of the country's exports.

While introducing the Bill in the Rajya Sabha on Aug. 3, Union MSME Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi had said outstanding credit to the sector had increased significantly.

"The outstanding credit disbursed to MSMEs, which stood at Rs 10 lakh crore in 2014-15, has today increased to over Rs 38.35 lakh crore, denoting that the credit flow to MSMEs is rising steadily," he had said.

The Bill was passed during a brief sitting of the Lok Sabha after the House reassembled at noon following its first adjournment of the day. Proceedings continued to be disrupted by Opposition protests over various issues, and the House was later adjourned till Monday.