Lok Sabha Question No. 4554 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-19
Subject: Delayed Payments to MSMEs
Ministry: MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
Asked by: Ms Sayani Ghosh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4554 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.03.2026

## DELAYED PAYMENTS TO MSMEs

## 4554. MS SAYANI GHOSH:

Will the Minister of MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  taken  note  of  the  findings  of  the  Economic  Survey  2025-26 indicating that approximately Rs. 8.1 lakh crore are locked in delayed payments to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the  estimates  of  delayed  payments  owed  to  MSMEs  and  the  number  of  MSMEs  affected  by such delays, sector-wise and State/UT-wise;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  assessed  the  impact  of  delayed  payments  on  MSMEs'  working capital, growth prospects, employment generation and business continuity and the conclusions drawn there from and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether it is a fact that many MSMEs refrain from initiating legal proceedings under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006, due to fear of damaging long-term business relationships with buyers and if so, the steps taken to address this deterrent; and
- (e) whether the Government has evaluated the effectiveness of the ODR mechanism in ensuring timely payments without adversarial litigation and if so, the findings thereof ?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE)

(a) and (b): The  cumulative  dues  reported  by  Central  Public  Sector  Enterprises  (CPSEs)  towards MSMEs on the Samadhaan Portal till the end of February 2026 are Rs. 21,137.88 crore. Out of this, Rs. 18,731.45 crore has been reported as paid by the CPSEs, resulting in total pending dues of Rs. 2,406.46 crore.  The  details  of  dues  reported  by  CPSEs,  Ministry  -wise,  on  Samadhaan  Portal  till  the  end  of February, 2026 are given at Annexure.

- (c): Delayed payments to Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) is one of the concerns for the MSME sector and the Government of India has taken a number of steps to ensure timely payments to MSEs.

As per Section  15  of  the  Micro,  Small  and  Medium  Enterprises  Development  (MSMED) Act,  2006 payment to the MSEs is to be made within 45 days. Under the provisions of the MSMED Act, 2006, Micro & Small Enterprises Facilitation Councils (MSEFCs) have been set up in the States/UTs to deal with cases of delayed payments of the Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs).  As per the data available on MSME SAMADHAAN Portal, till December, 2025, total 2,56,892 cases have been filed by MSEs on  this  Portal  involving  an  amount  of  Rs.55,244.26  crore.  Out  of  this,  Rs.  22,096.62  crore  is outstanding amount.

(d) and (e): To  maintain  long-term  commercial  relationships  with  buyers  MSMEs  are  hesitant  to initiate formal proceedings for recovery of delayed payments. To address these concerns and facilitate a more  amicable  and  accessible  dispute  resolution  process,  the  Government  has  taken  several  steps, including:

- a) Launch of the MSME ODR Portal on 27 June 2025 to enable technology-enabled resolution of delayed  payment  disputes.  The  portal  provides  an  end-to-end  digital  platform  for  filing, managing and resolving such disputes.
- b) Introduction of a pre-litigation, dialogue-based mechanism under the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) framework, which encourages voluntary mediation, conciliation or negotiation between the  buyer  and  seller  before  the  matter  proceeds  to  formal  adjudication  by  Micro  and  Small Enterprises Facilitation Councils (MSEFCs).
- c) Government of India vide notification S.O. 4845(E) dated 07.11.2024 has directed CPSEs and all  companies with the turnover of Rs. 250 Crore or more to on-board the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS), an electronic platform for  facilitating  the  discounting  of  trade receivables of MSMEs through multiple financiers.

These measures aim to provide MSMEs with a less adversarial, faster and technology-enabled mechanism for dispute resolution while preserving business relationships.

Government launched Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Portal on 27.06.2025 to strengthen the existing SAMADHAAN Portal, with the objective of ensuring speedy, cost-effective, and transparent resolution of delayed payment disputes involving MSE. All fresh cases related to delayed payments are filed by MSEs on the MSME ODR portal with effect from 15.10.2025.Till date, total 14,814 cases have been filed on this Portal, out of which 26 cases have been resolved.

*******

Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) and (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4554 for answer on 19.03.2026.

| Ministry -wise dues reported by CPSEs on Samadhaan Portal till the end of month February, 2026   | Ministry -wise dues reported by CPSEs on Samadhaan Portal till the end of month February, 2026   | Ministry -wise dues reported by CPSEs on Samadhaan Portal till the end of month February, 2026   | Ministry -wise dues reported by CPSEs on Samadhaan Portal till the end of month February, 2026   | Ministry -wise dues reported by CPSEs on Samadhaan Portal till the end of month February, 2026   |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| S. No.                                                                                           | Name of Ministry                                                                                 | Cumulative dues reported towards MSMEs (in Rs. Crore.)                                           | Amount Paid reported (in Rs. Crore.)                                                             | Total Pending dues reported (in Rs. Crore.)                                                      |
| 1                                                                                                | Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas                                                            | 10,179.49                                                                                        | 9,308.58                                                                                         | 870.91                                                                                           |
| 2                                                                                                | Ministry of Defence                                                                              | 5,300.82                                                                                         | 5,251.81                                                                                         | 49.01                                                                                            |
| 3                                                                                                | Ministry of Power                                                                                | 1,088.88                                                                                         | 919.14                                                                                           | 169.73                                                                                           |
| 4                                                                                                | Ministry of Steel                                                                                | 1,072.37                                                                                         | 865.14                                                                                           | 207.23                                                                                           |
| 5                                                                                                | Ministry of Heavy Industries                                                                     | 1,001.90                                                                                         | 952.25                                                                                           | 49.65                                                                                            |
| 6                                                                                                | Ministry of Coal                                                                                 | 702.33                                                                                           | 306.10                                                                                           | 396.23                                                                                           |
| 7                                                                                                | Ministry of Communications                                                                       | 411.50                                                                                           | 109.33                                                                                           | 302.17                                                                                           |
| 8                                                                                                | Ministry of Atomic Energy                                                                        | 394.30                                                                                           | 360.54                                                                                           | 33.76                                                                                            |
| 9                                                                                                | Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution                                       | 233.32                                                                                           | 164.62                                                                                           | 68.71                                                                                            |
| 10                                                                                               | Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers                                                            | 204.74                                                                                           | 125.52                                                                                           | 79.22                                                                                            |
| 11                                                                                               | Ministry of Shipping                                                                             | 144.37                                                                                           | 102.72                                                                                           | 41.66                                                                                            |
| 12                                                                                               | Ministry of Railways                                                                             | 86.09                                                                                            | 83.04                                                                                            | 3.05                                                                                             |
| 13                                                                                               | Ministry of Tourism                                                                              | 84.22                                                                                            | 20.72                                                                                            | 63.50                                                                                            |
| 14                                                                                               | Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology                                               | 66.99                                                                                            | 40.66                                                                                            | 26.33                                                                                            |
| 15                                                                                               | Ministry of Mines                                                                                | 39.31                                                                                            | 38.65                                                                                            | 0.66                                                                                             |
| 16                                                                                               | Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment                                                       | 30.09                                                                                            | 26.25                                                                                            | 3.84                                                                                             |
| 17                                                                                               | Ministry of Finance                                                                              | 28.55                                                                                            | 23.78                                                                                            | 4.77                                                                                             |
| 18                                                                                               | Ministry of Health and Family Welfare                                                            | 20.47                                                                                            | 11.20                                                                                            | 9.27                                                                                             |
| 19                                                                                               | Ministry of Information and Broadcasting                                                         | 16.02                                                                                            | 2.34                                                                                             | 13.68                                                                                            |
| 20                                                                                               | Ministry of Science and Technology                                                               | 11.47                                                                                            | 11.35                                                                                            | 0.13                                                                                             |
| 21                                                                                               | Ministry of Textiles                                                                             | 9.87                                                                                             | 2.14                                                                                             | 7.73                                                                                             |
| 22                                                                                               | Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Industry                                                   | 3.86                                                                                             | 3.82                                                                                             | 0.05                                                                                             |
| 23                                                                                               | Ministry of Human Resource Development                                                           | 3.31                                                                                             | 0                                                                                                | 3.31                                                                                             |
| 24                                                                                               | Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH)                | 2.20                                                                                             | 0.45                                                                                             | 1.75                                                                                             |
| 25                                                                                               | Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs                                                            | 0.91                                                                                             | 0.91                                                                                             | 0                                                                                                |
| 26                                                                                               | Ministry of New and Renewable Energy                                                             | 0.12                                                                                             | 0.12                                                                                             | 0                                                                                                |
| 27                                                                                               | Ministry of Space                                                                                | 0.11                                                                                             | 0.11                                                                                             | 0                                                                                                |
| 28                                                                                               | Ministry of Civil Aviation                                                                       | 0.10                                                                                             | 0                                                                                                | 0.10                                                                                             |
| 29                                                                                               | Ministry of Minority Affairs                                                                     | 0.09                                                                                             | 0.09                                                                                             | 0                                                                                                |
| 30                                                                                               | Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare                                                      | 0.06                                                                                             | 0.06                                                                                             | 0                                                                                                |
| 31                                                                                               | Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises                                                  | 0.01                                                                                             | 0                                                                                                | 0.01                                                                                             |
| 32                                                                                               | Ministry of Road Transport and Highways                                                          | 0.01                                                                                             | 0.01                                                                                             | 0                                                                                                |
|                                                                                                  | Grand Total                                                                                      | 21,137.88                                                                                        | 18,731.45                                                                                        | 2,406.46                                                                                         |