Micro Enterprise
Micro enterprises are understood in India as enterprises where the investment in plant and machinery or equipments is upto Rs. 25 lakhs ( ͌ US $ 0.04 million) in case of a manufacturing industry[1] and upto Rs. 10 lakh ( ͌ US $ 0.02 million) in case of a service sector enterprise[2].
This definition is provided in Section 7 of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (MSMED Act) and was notified in September 2006.
The enterprises can take any form - proprietorship, company, cooperative, association of persons, Hindu Undivided Family[3] , partnership etc. Further, this definition is not restricted by the number of persons employed by the firm nor the electricity consumed by the firm, as is practiced in some other countries like European Union.
Ministry of MSME has decided in November 2014 for an amendment to the MSMED Act, 2006 to double the investment limits of micro enterprises. The bill is yet to be tabled in the Parliament.
Also See
Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs)