Small businesses battered: 8,000 units shut down, jobs lost in 3 years

The year 2023-24 alone witnessed 3,245 unit closures in Maharashtra, 220 in district

Vaibhav Parwat

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar : The shadow of the pandemic continues to loom large over Maharashtra's micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), with a staggering 8,352 units shutting down between July 2020 and December 2023. This accounts for almost a quarter of the 32,745 MSME closures across the country during the same period. This includes 220 units in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.

These shutdowns paint a grim picture of economic hardship, resulting in thousands of job losses. The year 2023-24 alone witnessed 3,245 unit closures in the state, highlighting a worrying trend of continued decline. While, 1,831 units closed in 2021-22, 3,276 units closed in 2022-23 in the state. Despite new units are opening, they aren't enough to offset the closures. Big industries weathered the pandemic storm, but many smaller businesses couldn't cope with the disruption and mounting debts. The data reveals a worrying pattern: 175 units closed in 2020-21, followed by 6,222 in 2021-22, 13,290 in 2022-23, and finally 13,067 in 2023-24 in the country.

Maharashtra tops the list of closed units:

State MSMEs (closed) in 2023:

Maharashtra: 3245

Gujarat : 1235

Uttar Pradesh : 1189

Tamil Nadu : 1767

Bihar: 354

Rajasthan : 1050

District-wise breakdown of SME registrations in Marathwada:

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: 1,09,207 SMEs

Nanded: 37,843

Beed: 34,213

Jalna: 33,803

Latur: 33,780

Dharashiv: 26,168

Parbhani: 22,633

Hingoli: 11,940

MSMEs demand urgent attention

The plight of Maharashtra's MSMEs demands urgent attention. Policy interventions and support measures are crucial to revive this vital sector, protect jobs, and stimulate economic growth in the state. Industries face closure due to multifaceted reasons. Government support is crucial, necessitating advance provision of infrastructure facilities. Limited space in MIDC poses challenges for small-scale industries. Additionally, a lack of interest from the second generation and certain laws inapplicable to small-scale enterprises contribute to closures, said Anil Patil, Massia president.