Jammu Kashmir Has Over 1.8 lakh Women-led MSMEs | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has emerged as a notable hub for women entrepreneurs, with 1,84,315 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) registered and functioning under female leadership between July 2020 and November 2025. The figures, provided in the Rajya Sabha by Minister of State for MSMEs Shobha Karandlaje, show a steady growth of women-led businesses in the Union Territory, spanning manufacturing, services, and trading sectors, reflecting an increasing participation of women in the local economy despite regional challenges.

Across Jammu and Kashmir, MSMEs are almost equally distributed across manufacturing, service, and trading sectors, with 2,55,559 manufacturing units, 2,53,306 service units, and 2,76,708 trading establishments registered during the same period. The growth of women-led enterprises in the region underscores not only entrepreneurship opportunities but also the role of government schemes like the Udyam Registration Portal and Udyam Assist Platform in facilitating business registration, access to finance, and skill development for female entrepreneurs.

At the national level, India has over 28.6 million women-led MSMEs, with states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal leading in terms of numbers. These enterprises contribute significantly to employment, economic growth, and innovation, while government initiatives continue to promote gender-inclusive entrepreneurship, support credit access, and offer capacity-building programmes to further enhance women’s participation across the country.