Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Monday urged banks to treat Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as long-term partners.

Terming them the “nursery of entrepreneurship”, the RBI chief said MSMEs were key to the ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision. He was inaugurating a special awareness programme for MSME entrepreneurs in Kochi in connection with the International MSME Day 2026 which falls on June 27.

Addressing about 150 MSME entrepreneurs from the State and senior officials from the banking sector, Mr. Malhotra highlighted the upcoming Unified Lending Interface (ULI) to streamline credit appraisal. The technology-based initiative aims to make frictionless credit available to every Indian and to further the Union government’s broader vision of digital empowerment, financial inclusion, and last-mile service delivery.

He also called on entrepreneurs to engage with Trade Receivables electronic Discounting System (TreDS), an RBI-regulated digital platform that helps MSMEs unlock working capital. He said it is important for MSMEs to maintain financial discipline and transparency.

MSMEs’ contribution

He said MSMEs contributes around 45% of exports from the country and provides jobs to about 33 crore people, the largest employment generated outside agriculture sector. “These are not just numbers. These are the testament to the ambitions, dynamism and perseverance of MSMEs,” he said.

Mr. Malhotra lauded Kochi’s entrepreneurial legacy from the spice trade to emerging sectors like fintech and clean energy, and noted that MSME credit growth has outpaced overall credit growth, with Kerala performing strongly.

He said the RBI has initiated measures such as priority sector lending targets, a higher collateral-free loan threshold, TReDS, the Account Aggregator framework, and waiver of pre-closure charges to narrow the credit gap.

The event, organised by the RBI, Thiruvananthapuram, aimed at enhancing financial literacy among MSME entrepreneurs, improving awareness regarding formal credit channels, and facilitating interaction between entrepreneurs, bankers, and government agencies.

The programme featured technical sessions on access to credit, innovative financing solutions, MSME support schemes offered by SIDBI, RBI initiatives for the MSME sector, and various schemes implemented by the Central and State governments. Successful entrepreneurs shared their experiences and insights, providing practical guidance to aspiring and existing MSME entrepreneurs.