MSME promotion compliments inclusivity

BANGALORE, INDIA: Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) provide the energy for the economy to grow.

Stating this in his address at the two-day India Global Summit on MSMEs being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi recently, Arun Maira, Member, Planning Commission, Government of India, said, “We look at the moon for light, but we miss the fireflies”.

Substantiating this view, he said that the 26 million MSMEs in the country provide employment to 60 million people, and account for 30 per cent of the manufacturing GDP and 40 per cent of the total exports. So, to promote inclusivity, the focus should necessarily be on taking the MSME sector to a higher growth trajectory, he said.

"Indian MSMEs like garment manufacturing firms are already integrated with the global production chain, he said the larger enterprises could learn from their experience and consider setting up small teams within them and promote a spirit of entrepreneurship. At the same time, the small enterprises need to complement each other and collectively function as big entities," he added.

He noted that adoption of appropriate technologies, promotion of owner-producers, and greater cooperation and collaboration among the MSMEs themselves are the key growth drivers for the sector .

MSMEs around the world are indeed poised to leverage the business opportunities that stem from the gradual recovery of the global economy. Saying this in his keynote address, Dinesh Rai, Secretary, Ministry of MSME, Government of India, said the MSMEs, having weathered the difficult economic times, will emerge stronger if due financial and technological support is extended to them.

Rai said that the Government of India had introduced two growth stimulus packages and a series of fiscal and monetary measures that have greatly alleviated the financial problems that Indian MSMEs faced in the wake of the global economic slowdown. The challenge hereon would be for these enterprises to establish their global competitiveness, for which they will need to focus upon new technologies, R&D and market expansion globally.

Underlining the need for creating a sufficient number of entrepreneurship development institutes across the country, Rai added, "The Government will provide 50 per cent subsidy for any initiative towards setting up such institutes in the country. In the North-East region, subsidy to the order of 90 per cent will be given for such initiatives."