As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, the rate of growth in bank credit to retail and wholesale trade – brought under the MSME definition last year – more than doubled to 16.9 per cent in August this year from 7 per cent during the year-ago period. Aggregate credit deployed to retail and wholesale trade during the month was Rs 7.31 lakh crore in vis-a-vis Rs 6.26 lakh crore deployed in August last year. The reinstatement of retailers and wholesalers in the MSME category in July last year had made them eligible to secure loans available under the MSME ambit. The credit deployment to wholesale trade during August was up by 17.6 per cent from Rs 3.24 lakh crore and for retail trade, the credit growth stood at 16 per cent from Rs 3.01 lakh crore loan deployed in August 2021.