‘Make in India’, ‘Skill India’ and ‘Digital India’ to enable MSMEs attain Exponential Growth: Madhav Lal, Secretary, Ministry of MSME

CII in Partnership with the Ministry of MSME, Government of India organized the Global SME Business Summit 2014. The day one of the event focused on connecting Global SMEs for mutual business development and explore emerging markets. During the event, Mr Madhav Lal, Secretary, Ministry of MSME, discussed the intent of the Government of India and the Ministry of MSME to lead Indian MSMEs on a high growth path. After highlighting the role played by MSMEs in the economic landscape of the country, he spoke about the dual role that the Ministry of MSME plays in assisting MSMEs in terms of providing them with a supportive framework through policy advocacy and by bringing about institutional reforms in areas of policy vacuum including taxation reform, regulatory systems’ reforms, finance provisioning reforms, etc. He shed some light on the recent initiatives of the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, for support to MSMEs. The most significant measures include the Make in India initiative, Skill India for skill development, Digital India for ICT interventions, etc. He also made a mention of the announcements in the Union Budget 2014-15 for the provision of a Rs 10,000 crore venture capital fund and a Rs 200 crore technology centres fund, accreditation of enterprises in this sector, virtual clusters, online filing of EM I and II, incubation centres, etc. These initiatives make it clear that the government is focused on supporting the MSMEs. He illustrated the need for identifying important verticals within this sector with differing interests with regards to government’s policy interventions and highlighted the merits of adopting a focused approach to benefit these verticals. Mr Madhav Lal inaugurated the 11^th edition of Global SME Business Summit 2014 today in New Delhi.

Mr R C Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India Limited in his Keynote Address, disclosed the role played by MSMEs in assisting Maruti Suzuki in its journey to become the biggest car manufacturing company. He spoke about the diversity of opportunities evolving in the auto components sector for MSMEs. He discussed the role played by Maruti in cluster development, skill formation, etc. He also added that, to make the PM’s call to grow manufacturing a reality different rules and incentives need to be devised for MSME’s working as vendors to modern manufacturing. A capital investment based criteria is inappropriate and in fact creates a disincentive to improving technology, productivity, quality and reducing costs. He said that industry will not become competitive if this persists. This applies not only to auto but aerospace, capital goods, power generating and transmission equipment, consumer durables and so on. The entire package of incentives should lead to enhancing competitiveness of manufacturing, and upgrade of all aspects of their work, commented Mr Bhargava.

The report “The New Wave Indian MSME: An Action Agenda for Growth” was released by Mr Madhav Lal at the Session.

The report “The New Wave Indian MSME: An Action Agenda for Growth” was released by Mr Madhav Lal at the Session. This report suggests an alternative framework for the definition of MSMEs. This report outlines relevant recommendations for an opportunity framework built around five growth enabling pillars comprising: infrastructure, regulatory framework, funding, performance incentives and skill India. It also contains global best practises and is in line with the government’s vision of policy incentives for the MSME sector in India.

Ms Patricia Hewitt, Chair, UK India Business Council, emphasized on building a healthy India UK SME partnership. She explained that through improvements in factors like gaining access to networks and contacts; establishing a dialogue and building a relationship with actors in the market; navigating unfamiliar business environments, including differences in language and culture; procedural barriers such as product standards and other aspects of the legal and regulatory framework; assessing the competitive environment and identifying potential opportunities and risks; etc., the small and medium enterprises of both countries can be enabled to explore and expand their businesses in each other’s domain.

Mr T T Ashok, Co-Chairman, CII National SME Council, shared about the various features of the session which include 8 sectoral sessions on emerging sectors with relevance for SME penetration and internalization, 6 country sessions to explore cross-border partnership opportunities of mutual benefit, the India SME expo showcasing 50 national as well as international SMEs, their products and services and a special National Vendor Development Program with leading CPSEs in India to enable Public Sector Enterprises to identify suitable vendors in the MSE category and to provide SMEs with an opportunity to interact with these CPSEs and cement long term partnerships. He added that looking ahead, the challenge lies in building the next generation of SMEs that will collectively function as the powerhouse of the global economy. To achieve this, governments and industry around the world would need to make many collaborative efforts to create conducive eco-systems for MSMEs within their respective geographies and across regions.

RBI Needs to Act on Multiple Fronts to Revive Economy

Views of Kris Gopalakrishnan, President, CII

CII has noted that the RBI has held its key rates owing to the volatility in the Rupee. We understand the decision of the RBI on the rates. We draw heart from the statement of the RBI saying that had it not been for the volatility, the rates could have been reduced, since inflation has started to moderate. We see this as a softening of stance by the RBI.

However, the moderation of growth outlook by the RBI is a matter of great concern and this enforces our view that actions on multiple fronts are required to help the economy revive. Besides a large number of policies needing implementation, CII hopes that at the forthcoming session of the Parliament, some of the key legislations would get enacted, which would send out the correct messages to investors at home and abroad. These include the Bills on Insurance, Pensions, etc.  

CII submits a detailed list of 62 stalled projects: 17 Projects Cleared by Project Management Group

CII appreciates the Government’s commitment to rapid implementation of large infrastructure projects.

CII has learnt that 17 large infrastructure projects have been cleared in the last two weeks by the Project Management Group (PMG) recently set up in the Cabinet Secretariat to fast-track infrastructure projects. PMG has initiated an innovative and effective monitoring mechanism deploying e-governance to track and review the progress of the large infrastructure projects. In consultation with concerned companies, CII had prepared a detailed list of 62 infrastructure projects of over Rs 1,000 crores each and submitted it to the PMG. 

5 Point Agenda for Economic Development of Assam

CII will be  partnering with the State Government for overall economic development of the State and to facilitate initiatives that will catalyze grassroots  level developments.

The 5 point agenda will include Skill Development, Growth of the IT industry in the State, Enhancing MSME competitiveness in the State through capacity building, Boosting Food Processing including enabling the Tea industry to move up the value chain and facilitating healthcare delivery.