The recent protests at Jantar Mantar reflected a deeper problem than the immediate NEET paper leak controversy: Youth unemployment. A large share of unemployed Indians are young and educated, while underemployment remains widespread. With AI-driven disruption threatening existing jobs, India needs strong job creation engines, and the MSME sector is one of the best candidates.

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill, 2026, can help by addressing delayed payments, easing dispute resolution, and reducing some compliance burdens. But more needs to be done. India’s 63 million MSMEs employ more than 320 million people, contribute about 31 per cent of GDP, 35 per cent of manufacturing output, and 49 per cent of exports. Yet the sector remains largely informal, fragmented, and concentrated in low-value activities. Smaller firms still face major obstacles, especially limited access to affordable credit and the burden of GST, labour, environmental, and tax compliance.

The US and China did not create industrial strength by supporting isolated firms one by one; instead, they built clusters —........

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