Parliament Question: Technology upgradation and competitiveness

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2662

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 16.03.2026 TECHNOLOGY UPGRADATION AND COMPETITIVENESS

2662. SHRI SUJEET KUMAR:

SHRI BHUBANESWAR KALITA:

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

(a) the financial incentives and subsidies introduced to promote Zero Defect Zero Effect (ZED) certification for micro and small enterprises and the manner in which it impact, on quality and energy efficiency being tracked;

(b) whether Government is considering mandatory use of certified digital tools and cloud platforms for small businesses;

(c) if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether Government is working with the National Productivity Council to set industry- specific benchmarks; and

(e) if so, the details thereof ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE)

(a): Under the MSME Sustainable (ZED) Certification Scheme, financial incentives are

provided to MSMEs to promote quality manufacturing and environmentally sustainable practices.

A subsidy of 80%, 60% and 50% for Micro, Small and Medium MSMEs respectively is provided for the cost of ZED certification, while Women-owned MSMEs are eligible for 100% subsidy.

Additional subsidy of 10% is also provided for SC/ST owned MSMEs, MSMEs in special category regions and 5% to MSMEs that are part of the SFURTI or MSE-Cluster Development Programme of the Ministry. Further, the scheme provides financial assistance up to Rs. 50,000 for multiple testing/quality/product certification, up to Rs. 2 lakh for handholding support and up to Rs. 3 lakh for technology upgradation for Zero Effect solutions. The impact on quality and energy efficiency is monitored through the ZED assessment framework.

(b) & (c): At present, mandatory use of certified digital tools or cloud platforms for small businesses is not part of ZED Scheme. However, the Government promotes the voluntary adoption of such tools and technologies through various initiatives such as the Digital India Programme, GI Cloud (MeghRaj), Government e-Marketplace (GeM), Open Network for Digital Commerce

(ONDC) and Udyam Registration Portal, which facilitate digital adoption, e-governance services and online market access for businesses.

(d) & (e): Government of India has not assigned any work to the National Productivity Council

(NPC) to set industry–specific benchmarks. ****