Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP)

What is the RAMP scheme?

Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) is a World Bank-supported Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. The Union Cabinet approved RAMP in 2022, and the Press Information Bureau release of 25 July 2022 records a total outlay of Rs 6,062.45 crore (USD 808 million), of which Rs 3,750 crore (USD 500 million) is a World Bank loan and Rs 2,312.45 crore (USD 308 million) comes from the Government of India.

RAMP is not a benefit scheme in the ordinary sense. RAMP finances institutions, state governments and a family of component sub-schemes. According to the RAMP portal, the programme is implemented over 2022 to 2027 and works through Strategic Investment Plans prepared by states and union territories.

Key objectives

• Strengthen institutions and governance of MSME programmes at the Centre and in the states.
• Improve Centre-State linkages and partnerships in the MSME sector.
• Improve MSME access to markets and credit, and support technology upgradation.
• Address delayed payments to micro and small enterprises.
• Support the greening of MSMEs and their move towards a circular economy.

Main features

• Central Sector Scheme implemented over a five-year period.
• Structured under the World Bank's Programme for Results (P4R) instrument, with disbursement tied to six Disbursement Linked Indicators.
• Two result areas: strengthening institutions and governance, and support to market access, firm capabilities and access to finance.
• Funds state Strategic Investment Plans (SIPs) rather than individual applicants.

According to the RAMP portal dashboard, 36 states and union territories are participating, 398 projects have been approved, the approved budget stands at Rs 3,351.47 crore, expenditure at Rs 1,157.74 crore, and 23.10 lakh beneficiaries have been recorded. The portal also states that 46 per cent of the USD 500 million World Bank assistance has been reimbursed since 2022.

Who is eligible for RAMP?

Eligible to participate:

• MSMEs registered on Udyam or the Udyam Assist Platform. The RAMP portal states that all Udyam or UAP registered MSMEs are eligible to participate in RAMP benefits, always through a component sub-scheme.
• State and union territory governments, which submit Strategic Investment Plans for their MSME sector and receive RAMP funding for approved projects.
• Institutions and implementing agencies executing approved projects under a state SIP or a central component.

You cannot apply if you are looking for a personal or household benefit. RAMP does not pay a grant, pension, stipend or loan to an individual. There is no RAMP application form for a citizen, no beneficiary list and no RAMP instalment. An unemployed person, a student or a household is not eligible for any payment under RAMP. This is the single most common misunderstanding about the programme.

Even for an enterprise, RAMP itself is not the counter to approach. An MSME that wants a subsidy, guarantee, certification or dispute resolution applies to the relevant sub-scheme, for example ZED certification at zed.msme.gov.in or the MSE-ODR portal for delayed payments, and RAMP funds that scheme from behind.

What sub-schemes come under RAMP?

According to the RAMP portal, the programme's own initiatives and sub-schemes are:

• MSME TEAM Initiative: onboarding micro and small enterprises onto e-commerce platforms to improve market access.
• MSE GIFT. The MSE Green Investment and Financing for Transformation scheme, which helps micro and small enterprises access institutional finance for green technology, with an interest subvention component and a Risk Sharing Facility (RSF) coverage component.
• MSE SPICE; capital subsidy support for micro and small enterprises moving from linear to circular economy operations.
• MSE ODR, technology-enabled online dispute resolution for delayed payments to micro and small enterprises.
• Unified Business Platform (UBP).

RAMP additionally supports existing Ministry of MSME schemes, which the portal lists as MSME ZED, the LEAN Scheme, MSME Innovative, the PMS Scheme, the IC Scheme, CGTMSE, MSME Samadhaan and the CHAMPIONS grievance system. RAMP also works to make CGTMSE more effective, particularly for credit guarantee access by women-owned micro and small enterprises.

What documents are required under RAMP?

How to apply under RAMP

RAMP has no citizen application form. The real routes are institutional or sub-scheme based, and they work as follows.

1. If you are an MSME, first complete Udyam registration, or register on the Udyam Assist Platform if you are an informal micro enterprise. The RAMP portal treats Udyam or UAP registration as the eligibility condition for participating in RAMP benefits.
2. Open ramp.msme.gov.in and use the Sub Schemes and Supported Schemes menus to identify the component that matches your need — market access, green finance, circular economy, credit guarantee, certification or delayed payment recovery.
3. Apply on that component scheme's own portal. For example, ZED certification is applied for at zed.msme.gov.in, and delayed payment cases go to the MSE-ODR or MSME Samadhaan portal. RAMP itself does not accept the application.
4. If you are a state or union territory government, prepare a Strategic Investment Plan for the MSME sector in your state and submit it to the Ministry of MSME through the RAMP Programme Management Unit for appraisal and approval.
5. If you are an implementing agency or institution, respond to the project calls, tenders and proposals issued by the Ministry or by the state under an approved SIP. The Tender section of the RAMP portal carries these notifications.
6. Track progress through the Dashboard Login on the RAMP portal, which has separate Ministry, RAMP PMU and State logins for approved stakeholders.

How does RAMP benefit an individual MSME in practice?

RAMP benefits reach an enterprise indirectly. An MSME that gets a ZED certification subsidy, an interest subvention on a green loan under MSE GIFT, a capital subsidy under MSE SPICE, a CGTMSE-backed collateral-free loan, or a faster delayed-payment settlement through MSE ODR is receiving a benefit that RAMP funds or strengthens. The paperwork, eligibility and approval, however, belong to that sub-scheme.

Because RAMP operates on Disbursement Linked Indicators, its outputs are measured as institutional results: states with approved Strategic Investment Plans, projects sanctioned, and enterprises reached: rather than as a count of individual beneficiaries receiving a fixed amount. The RAMP portal reports 23.10 lakh beneficiaries and 35 or more DLIs achieved as of its last update.

Important dates for RAMP

• 2022, Union Cabinet approval and launch of the programme.
• 25 July 2022: Ministry of MSME states the outlay and structure in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, published by PIB.
• 2022 to 2027. The five-year implementation period stated by the Ministry.

No public deadline applies to citizens, because there is no citizen application. Deadlines under RAMP apply to states submitting Strategic Investment Plans and to agencies responding to tenders and calls for proposals.

Help and grievance redressal

• RAMP portal: ramp.msme.gov.in, carries the Contact Us page, FAQs and the Knowledge Centre.
• Postal address: Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Kartavya Bhawan 3, Kartavya Path, New Delhi 110001.
• CHAMPIONS grievance system and MSME Samadhaan are listed on the RAMP portal for enterprise grievances and delayed payment complaints respectively.

The Ministry of MSME does not publish a dedicated toll-free helpline number for RAMP. Treat any caller offering to "register you for RAMP benefits" against a fee as fraudulent; there is no individual RAMP registration to sell.