India Approves ₹10,000 Crore SME Growth Fund for Manufacturing

The Union Cabinet of India approved the establishment of a ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund on October 6, 2026. The fund is designed to provide long-term equity capital to high-potential small and medium enterprises, addressing a structural gap in growth-stage financing and moving beyond traditional credit support.

More than half of the capital is earmarked for manufacturing-focused enterprises, with a specific emphasis on industrial clusters in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. The initiative aims to help these companies adopt advanced technologies and integrate into global value chains, leveraging opportunities created by recent Free Trade Agreements with the UK, UAE, Australia, and New Zealand. This fund represents the first pillar of a three-pronged strategy involving equity, liquidity, and professional support introduced in the Union Budget 2026-27 as part of the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

During the approval process, the Cabinet also considered a proposal from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to create the Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority. This non-profit special purpose vehicle, tentatively named the Gati-Shakti Transport and Logistics Planning and Research Authority, intends to centralize infrastructure planning and research to eliminate silos between transport and housing ministries.