Economy
Industrial Policy and MSMEs
Industrial Policy and MSMEs — Quick Revision
One-page CGPSC quick revision for Industrial Policy and MSMEs: policies, dates, Ratna criteria, MSME limits, schemes and core industries in tables.
Industrial policies, the public sector, MSMEs and Make in India on one page. For explanations, go back to the chapter.
How to use this sheet
Scan it top to bottom in the week before Prelims. Bold entries are the facts examiners return to most often. Figures marked with a year are time-sensitive: recheck them before the exam.
Policy Timeline
| Year | Policy / law | Key point |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Industrial Policy Resolution (6 April) | Four categories; mixed economy; Central monopoly of arms, atomic energy, railways |
| 1951 | IDRA | Industrial licensing; still in force (DPIIT) |
| 1956 | IPR 1956 (30 April) | Schedule A 17, Schedule B 12, Schedule C rest; “economic constitution”; socialistic pattern |
| 1967 | Hazari Report | Licensing favoured big houses |
| 1969 | Dutt Committee → MRTP Act | Curbs on monopolies; replaced by Competition Act, 2002 |
| 1973 | Industrial Policy Statement; FERA | Joint sector, core industries; FERA replaced by FEMA, 1999 |
| 1977 | Janata policy | Small sector, District Industries Centres (1978) |
| 1980 | Industrial Policy Statement | Efficiency, regional balance |
| 1991 | New Industrial Policy (24 July) | Licensing only for 18; public sector reservation 17 → 8; MRTP threshold removed; FDI automatic up to 51% |
| 2011 | National Manufacturing Policy | 25% of GDP by 2022; 100 million jobs; NIMZs |
| 2014 | Make in India (25 September) | Lion logo; 25 sectors → 27 (Make in India 2.0) |
| 2016 | Startup India (16 January); Stand-Up India (5 April) | Startups; SC/ST and women loans |
| 2020 | Atmanirbhar Bharat (12 May); PLI; composite MSME definition + Udyam (1 July) | 14 PLI sectors, ₹1.97 lakh crore |
| 2021 | New PSE Policy; Semicon India; PM GatiShakti (13 October) | 4 strategic sector groups |
| 2025 | National Manufacturing Mission (Budget 2025-26); new MSME limits (1 April) | 5 focal areas; limits raised 2.5x / 2x |
| 2026 | IIP and ICI re-based to 2022-23 | ICI now 9 core industries (iron ore added) |
Today’s Position (as of 2026)
| Item | Fact |
|---|---|
| Reserved for public sector | 2: atomic energy, railway operations |
| Compulsory licensing | 5: alcoholic drinks; cigars and cigarettes; electronic aerospace and defence equipment; industrial explosives; specified hazardous chemicals |
| Small-sector reservation | Ended in 2015 (began 1967) |
Public Sector and Disinvestment
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Miniratna, Navratna | 1997 |
| Maharatna | 2009; 3-year averages: turnover > ₹25,000 cr, net worth > ₹15,000 cr, net profit > ₹5,000 cr; listed; autonomy up to ₹5,000 cr per project |
| Maharatnas (2026) | 14; newest HAL (October 2024) |
| Rangarajan Committee | 1993 |
| Disinvestment Commission | 23 August 1996; G.V. Ramakrishna |
| Department of Disinvestment → DIPAM | 10 December 1999 → 14 April 2016 |
| First strategic sale | Modern Food Industries (2000) |
| BALCO, Korba | 2001; 51% to Sterlite; ₹551.5 crore; government kept 49%; upheld by Supreme Court |
| Air India | To Talace (Tata Sons), 27 January 2022 |
| New PSE Policy | Budget 2021-22; strategic: atomic-space-defence, transport-telecom, power-petroleum-minerals, banking-insurance-finance |
| Budget 2026-27 | ₹80,000 crore misc. capital receipts (disinvestment + monetisation) |
| NMDC Steel, Nagarnar | 3 MTPA, Bastar; dedicated 3 October 2023; strategic sale pending (September 2026) |
| PSUs in Chhattisgarh | SAIL Bhilai; SECL (HQ Bilaspur); NTPC Korba, Sipat, Lara; NMDC Bailadila |
MSMEs
| Class | 2020 limits (₹ crore, inv / turnover) | From 1 April 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Micro | 1 / 5 | 2.5 / 10 |
| Small | 10 / 50 | 25 / 100 |
| Medium | 50 / 250 | 125 / 500 |
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Law | MSMED Act, 2006; Ministry of MSME 2007 |
| Udyam | 1 July 2020; Udyam Assist for informal micro units |
| Share in GVA / exports | 30.1% (2022-23) / about 45.7% (2023-24) |
| SIDBI / CGTMSE | 1990 / 2000 (cover ₹10 crore from Budget 2025-26) |
| PMEGP | 2008; KVIC nodal |
| MUDRA | 8 April 2015; Shishu ₹50,000, Kishore ₹5 lakh, Tarun ₹10 lakh, Tarun Plus ₹20 lakh |
| Stand-Up India | ₹10 lakh–₹1 crore; greenfield; SC/ST and women |
| PM Vishwakarma | 17 September 2023; 18 trades; ₹15,000 toolkit; loans ₹1 lakh + ₹2 lakh |
| Delayed payments | 45 days; Section 43B(h) of the Income Tax Act |
| Public procurement | 25% from MSEs (4% SC/ST, 3% women) |
Make in India and Measurement
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Make in India targets | 12–14% manufacturing growth; 100 million jobs; 25% of GDP |
| Doing Business | 142nd (2015) → 63rd (2020); report discontinued 2021 |
| PLI | 14 sectors; ₹1.97 lakh crore; incentive on incremental sales; investment over ₹2.40 lakh crore by 31 March 2026 |
| Semicon India | December 2021; ₹76,000 crore |
| Industrial smart cities | 12 approved August 2024 |
| IIP | NSO (MoSPI); base 2022-23; manufacturing about 76% |
| ICI | Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT; base 2022-23 from 20 July 2026; 9 industries; electricity heaviest (30.932%), fertilisers lightest (2.731%) |
Don’t Confuse
| This | vs | That |
|---|---|---|
| IPR 1948: 4 categories | vs | IPR 1956: 3 schedules |
| Reserved (2) | vs | Licensed (5) |
| MRTP → Competition Act 2002 | vs | FERA → FEMA 1999 |
| DPE: Ratna status, MoUs | vs | DIPAM: equity sales and management |
| Minority stake sale | vs | Strategic sale (control transferred) |
| MSME 2020 limits | vs | MSME 2025 limits |
| Startup India (16 Jan 2016) | vs | Stand-Up India (5 Apr 2016) |
| NMP 2011 (policy) | vs | National Manufacturing Mission (Budget 2025-26) |
| IIP: NSO, MoSPI | vs | ICI: DPIIT |
| ICI 2011-12: 8 industries, refinery products heaviest | vs | ICI 2022-23: 9 industries, electricity heaviest |
Favourite MCQ trap
“The 1991 policy abolished industrial licensing.” Only partly: it kept licensing for 18 industries, and 5 still need a licence. Likewise, defence equipment is licensed, not reserved.
Second favourite trap
Old books say “eight core industries”. Since the 2022-23 series (July 2026) there are nine, with iron ore added. Chhattisgarh’s Bailadila mines now feed directly into a headline national index.
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