Credit guarantees worth ₹11,926 crore were sanctioned in 2022–23, rising to ₹23,359 crore in 2023–24 and touching ₹39,989 crore in 2024–25 
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Maharashtra has recorded a sharp surge in credit guarantees approved for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs), including those in rural areas, under the Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) of the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) over the past three financial years.

Data placed before the Lok Sabha show that the number of guarantees approved in the State increased from 66,055 in 2022–23 to 1,29,892 in 2023–24 and further to 2,38,128 in 2024–25

This marks a 3.6-fold rise in approvals within a span of two years, indicating a rapid expansion in access to collateral-free institutional credit.

The amount approved under the scheme has also seen a parallel increase. Credit guarantees worth ₹11,926 crore were sanctioned in 2022–23, rising to ₹23,359 crore in 2023–24 and touching ₹39,989 crore in 2024–25 . In absolute terms, the guarantee amount has more than tripled during this period.

Credit Push

The data, which include rural enterprises in Maharashtra , suggest growing reliance on the CGTMSE-backed lending framework among micro and small businesses. The scheme provides credit guarantees for loans extended to MSEs, with the ceiling for guarantee coverage fixed at ₹10 crore.  

The Centre has complemented this credit push with additional measures aimed at strengthening MSME financing. The Self-Reliant India Fund has been set up to infuse ₹50,000 crore as equity support in MSMEs , while the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme offers margin money subsidy of up to 35 per cent for new micro enterprises .

Vishwakarma Scheme

The PM Vishwakarma Scheme provides loans up to ₹3 lakh with interest subvention support , and the Trade Receivables Discounting System enables digital financing of MSME receivables

The Ministry has also indicated that outreach programmes are conducted in coordination with District Industries Centres, banks and other stakeholders to expedite the flow of credit. The steep rise in guarantee approvals points to increasing formalisation of small businesses and stronger credit penetration in Maharashtra’s MSME sector, particularly among first-generation and rural entrepreneurs seeking collateral-free finance.

Published on February 19, 2026

As PhonePe prepares for its highly anticipated initial public offering, the domestic digital payments sector is witnessing a strategic divide between raw transaction volume and merchant-led monetisation. While PhonePe currently commands a massive 51 per cent share of the Unified Payments Interface market compared to Paytm’s 6 per cent, recent insights from leading brokerage Investec suggest that the battle for the bottom line is being won on the merchant side of the counter.

Another global brokerage, Bernstein, highlighted that the net revenue pool for the payments ecosystem currently stands at approximately ₹150 billion and is projected to expand at a 20 per cent annual rate to reach ₹385 billion by the 2030 fiscal year.

According to Bernstein, the core of this profitability lies in merchant payments, which represent 75 per cent of the total industry revenue pool. This is an area where Paytm, already a listed company, currently maintains a notable lead. Bernstein estimates Paytm’s net payment margin at approximately 9 bps, a figure that includes its substantial revenue from an installed base of over 13 million payment devices like soundboxes.

In contrast, PhonePe’s margin is estimated at 4 bps, largely because its immense scale is heavily tilted towards peer-to-peer consumer transfers.

Paytm reported a higher total revenue of ₹38.6 billion for the first half of the 2026 fiscal year, compared to PhonePe’s ₹31.6 billion. Investec analysts pointed out that Paytm’s first-mover advantage in deploying merchant devices and its established leadership in merchant loan distribution have enabled it to deliver revenue and EBITDA outcomes comparable to PhonePe, despite having a much smaller consumer footprint. While PhonePe has roughly three times the monthly active customers of Paytm, its EBITDA of ₹2.5 billion for the first half of the year remained slightly behind Paytm’s ₹2.8 billion.

Looking ahead, Bernstein has noted that the industry will see a significant rise in credit-based payments, such as credit lines and credit cards on UPI, which have the potential to lift sector-wide margins by offsetting pressures in existing payment modes. However, both companies remain exposed to regulatory risks, particularly the potential discontinuation of government incentive schemes that currently support the ecosystem’s zero merchant discount rate framework. As PhonePe moves toward its listing, Investec expects a new era of pricing discipline to emerge across the industry.

While PhonePe offers significant future optionality through its massive transacting user base, Paytm’s more diversified presence in physical point-of-sale machines and payment gateways provides it with a distinct edge in capturing the expanding digital payment margins.

Published on February 19, 2026