How the FM can make it a 'never before' Budget. Top experts weigh in

India and Australia can combine complementary skills and expertise to develop new innovations by leveraging Australian expertise with Indian expertise including in data analytics, biotech, and mobile applications

Finance Ministry said various important structural reforms, encompassing various sectors, have been strategically undertaken to combat downside risk to short-term and medium-term growth rate

MSMEs have called for allowing medium enterprises to access Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Councils, a mechanism to settle payment disputes open only to micro and small enterprises so far

MSME Secretary AK Sharma said that Rs 10,000 crore would come from the government and the rest -- Rs 40,000 crore -- would come from VC and PE firms

Asserting that a case study is in the offing based on three years of imports and exports, Gadkari said China's 70 per cent of exports pertained to ten sectors that included electrical machinery and equipment

MSMEs body says the industry is not back on its feet yet and needs more support from the regulator to overcome the current crisis

When asked about what could be the lasting impact once things normalise after COVID-19, Sahoo said necessity is the mother of invention and that the focus is on swift response

The survey stated that minimal hiring has started in the sector, and while businesses are restarting, they remain acutely stressed

The MSME trade body has said that the change in definition of MSMEs will allow large corporates and multi-national companies (MNCs) to have indirect control of the manufacturing sector in India through their subsidiaries

SBI's SME Business Unit to local head offices comes as a reassurance for struggling firms which fear banks could take a long time in processing their applications

The survey added that the government's stimulus package doesn't apply to start-ups that account for around 11 per cent of the MSME sector in India

Some experts expressed apprehensions that including more firms in the MSME category could crowd out the real small-scale manufacturers and dim their chances of availing various benefits

The government also gave a nod to Rs 20,000 crore subordinate debt for stressed MSMEs, benefiting two lakh stressed small businesses

Swadeshi Jagran Manch also wants medium enterprises to be excluded from the definition of MSMEs as they are as good as big unit and fillip to manufacturing

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the government has taken several steps to mitigate the hardships of the people due to lockdown and support growth

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to address media on 2nd announcement of economic package at 4 PM. Check where, how and when to watch live telecast, streaming

Gautam Adani said that that the stimulus package could be a growth plank to push Make In India vision. Kunal Bahl said that MSMEs were India's backbone and government's announcement would help them to get back on their feet

Though Rs 90,000 crore stimulus to clear outstanding dues of independent power producers and generators is a positive step to ease liquidity pressure, appropriate structuring for bond issuance against guarantee will be critical to raise funds in current tight liquidity situation

Measures are more on the supply side and there is very little on the demand side; probably, future announcements may contain a more balanced coverage, said Joseph Thomas of Emkay Wealth Management