- Cabinet approved Rs 10,000 crore SME Growth Fund.
- Boosts capital for India's small and medium enterprises.
- Supports manufacturing, regional development, and job creation.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, October 6, approved Rs 10,000 crore to establish an SME Growth Fund (SGF), which was proposed in Budget 2026-27. The SGF aims to boost capital availability for India's Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), enabling the emergence of Indian enterprises across manufacturing, services, technology, innovation-driven sectors, and strategic value chains.
The SGF was announced in the Union Budget 2026-27, focusing on providing equity, liquidity and professional support for the MSME ecosystem as a whole.
Who Will Benefit From The New SGF? —3 Points
The government says that a lot of existing funds provide equity support, but the majority of them focus on early-stage enterprises and cover mainly micro enterprises. The SFW will fill a structural gap exists for equity growth capital for Small and Medium Enterprises by providing a financing gap by providing patient growth equity capital to high-potential SMEs with demonstrated business viability and scalability.
1- Growth Support: Serves as a transformational tool to support enterprises at critical growth stages, with a major focus on small and medium manufacturing enterprises.
2- Regional Reach: Targets SMEs in Tier II and Tier III city industrial clusters.
3- Strategic Capital: Provides long-term patient equity to help businesses scale operations, invest in capacity and technology, integrate into global value chains, and expand internationally.
Also Read: World Bank Raises India’s FY27 GDP Growth Forecast to 7.1%: What’s Driving The Surge?
Benefits Under The New Fund
- Government of India will allocate a total of Rs. 10,000 crore to the Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) set up under the SGF framework.
- This will enable manufacturing companies to expand their capacity, adopt advanced technologies and scale up.
- Investments in industrial clusters, including Tier II and III cities, will contribute to balanced regional industrial development, strengthen local supply chains and create quality employment opportunities.