Against the post-New Industrial Policy (1991) growth witnessed in large-scale industries, a corresponding boom in the small and mid-sized domestic industry has been conspicuously absent. CCS has conducted research to understand the causes for the same. Further, a comparative evaluation of Indian MSMEs with those operating in other BRICS nations has been conducted, in an attempt to understand the overall effect of the business, policy and legal/regulatory environment on the growth of MSMEs. It has been observed that given the business environment in India, large-scale companies have thrived while MSMEs have not been able to realise their full growth potential. The study hypothesises—and seeks to verify whether and the extent to which—this handicap of MSMEs is attributable to the regulatory norms applicable to them. Further, it is suggested that the business environment in India, as contrasted against that of other BRICS nations, is not sufficiently conducive to MSME growth.
