Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has asked private sector to clear pending dues of MSMEs in a period of 45 days.

She was also talking about the outstanding dues to the MSME sector by Centre, state governments and state-owned enterprises.

The Minister was speaking at an event organized by Laghu Udyog Bharati, the RSS-affiliate devoted to small businesses

She said, in her meeting with big businesses two days ago, she appealed to them to ensure that the dues of smaller businesses who are the backbone of the economy are cleared in time.

"The private sector and industry should commit to make the payments in 45 days along with the books of accounts filed with the Registrar of Companies which make mention of outstanding dues. The private sector should also be ahead in this issue", she said.

The Minister ensured that the the central government too will be taking steps to resolve the issue by ensuring that departments and central public sector enterprises make the payments to small businesses in 90 days.