Female MSME Employment Falls Over 50% In Punjab, Rises In Haryana: Govt Data

Other neighbouring regions mirrored Punjab’s trend with Himachal Pradesh recording a decline to 63,015 from 71,095 and Chandigarh fell to 12,072 from 14,909. However, Haryana recorded an 18.27 percent rise, increasing from 4.16 lakh to 4.92 lakh. Jammu and Kashmir saw a marginal increase from 1.44 lakh to 1.51 lakh At the national level, female MSME employment rose modestly from 2.04 crore in FY 2024-25 to 2.13 crore (till Feb 2026). Drop in Women-Owned Enterprises Punjab also saw a decline in women-led MSMEs. In FY 2024-25, there were 2.18 lakh women owned units (37 percent of 5.76 lakh total) and in FY 2025-26 (till Feb) there were 1.36 lakh women owned units (33 percent of 4.13 lakh total). Nationally, a similar trend was observed with women-owned MSMEs declining from 87.42 lakh (FY25) to 59.02 lakh (till Feb FY26). Long-Term Trend Still Positive Despite the recent dip, the broader trend remains encouraging. Punjab’s female MSME employment rose from 1.43 lakh in FY 2020-21 to 8.4 lakh in FY 2024-25. National figures increased from 59.67 lakh to over 2 crore in the same period Key Takeaway While India continues to see gradual growth in women’s participation in MSMEs, the sharp dip in Punjab highlights regional disparities and structural bottlenecks that need targeted policy intervention. Addressing issues such as safety, infrastructure, credit access, and data reliability will be critical to sustaining and expanding women’s participation in the MSME sector. (KNN Bureau)