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According to the Reserve Bank of India's most recent monthly data on sectoral deployment of bank credit, priority sector loans by value made to micro and small businesses (MSEs) by scheduled commercial banks increased by 13% year over year (YoY) in February 2023 compared to an increase of 11.4% YoY in February 2022. (RBI). In February of this year, MSEs used bank credit of Rs. 15.61 lakh crore, compared to Rs. 13.81 trillion in February of previous year and Rs. 15.34 trillion in January of 2023. The amount of credit given to medium-sized businesses increased by 12.4% in February, from Rs 3.47 trillion to Rs 3.90 trillion. The total amount of credit provided by banks to MSEs and medium-sized businesses in February 2023 was Rs 19.52 trillion, representing 14.5% of the Rs 134.15 trillion in non-food bank credit provided across sectors. This represents an increase of 12.9% from the Rs 17.28 trillion provided in February 2022. In February 2023, other industries that qualified for priority sector credit included agriculture and allied activities, which would receive Rs 16.86 trillion, housing, which would receive Rs 6.19 trillion, educational loans, which would receive Rs 593.62 billion, renewable energy, which would receive Rs 46.42 billion, social infrastructure, which would receive Rs 24.49 billion, and more. According to information provided by state minister for MSME Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma in a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha last month, during the eight-year period from FY15 to FY22, credit from scheduled commercial banks to MSME increased by 71%, from Rs 11.71 trillion to Rs 20.11 trillion. The number of MSME loan accounts that got credit increased by 201%, but fell to 264.67 lakh MSMEs in FY22. Despite an increase in loans to MSMEs, Avendus Capital, an investment bank, estimates that there is still a $530 billion imbalance between supply and demand for credit. The credit gap to MSMEs must be considered as an area of opportunity by the banks and other financial institutions, according to RBI deputy governor M. Rajeshwar Rao, who recently addressed the 31st Annual Management Convention of the Thrissur Management Association. See also: MSME policy ready for release after extensive consultationsRailways launched massive infrastructure project to promote MSMEs