Govt’s ZED scheme for MSMEs hits 1 lakh certification milestone; check scheme’s details
The Zero Effect, Zero Defect scheme (ZED) by the MSME Ministry, which aims to encourage environmentally sustainable manufacturing practices among MSMEs, has achieved the 1 lakh certification milestone, the ministry said in a post on X on Thursday. At the time of filing this report, 1,02,642 MSMEs were certified, of which 1,01,962 were bronze-level certified, 339 units received silver certification and 341 had gold certification, as per data from the scheme’s portal. The cumulative financial support extended to MSMEs under the scheme stood at Rs 134.57 crore.
“From 423 certifications in close to more than three years in the previous ZED to crossing a lakh in 19 months, ZED has come a long way. We also surpassed our internal target of 50,000 certifications before 26th January,” the ministry said in its post.
Launched in October 2016 and revamped in April 2022, the ZED scheme offers certification for environmentally conscious manufacturing under three certification levels (gold, silver and bronze) classified according to 20 performance-based parameters such as quality management, timely delivery, process control, waste management, etc.
The ZED certification is valid for three years and the MSME units are required to re-apply for the certificate as per the validity of the scheme. Currently, the scheme is applicable for manufacturing MSMEs only. The government hasn’t announced the scheme’s model for services MSMEs yet.
The scheme is in line with the government’s plan to reduce the country’s CO2 emissions by 1 billion tons by 2030, reduce carbon intensity below 45 per cent by 2030 and finally make way for achieving a Net-Zero emission target by 2070.