Our country is growing in terms of having a great MSME (small & medium sized organization) to support our vibrant economy which is contributing to the nations GDP. The growth increased from 65,64,458 in 2019 to 1,30,19,919 in 2022.
The pandemic has given the MSME’s a push to survive in the new age of digital technology where many start-ups are coming in. These small organizations offer digital or remote work starting office automation to healthcare services, educational, financial services and grocery etc to name a few and with cloud being used as a medium to host a whole lot of services it comes with minimal cost. By collaborating with such start-ups who have required tech set up, MSMEs are going forward and helping to shape up economic growth of the country.
The government of India has taken up initiatives and introduced schemes to mobilize support for the growing MSME sector which supports big manufacturing units with raw goods, connects rural India and generates huge employment potentiality.
This include implementing a number of initiatives to boost the MSME, manufacturing sector, including the “Make in India” campaign, which aims to increase the share of growth of manufacturing indigenous products, goods and services in the country.
Infrastructures a way forward to boost the MSME’s Special economic zones (SEZs) have been set up to attract foreign investment in these sectors.
A quick glimpse on the schemes can help us to understand where we stand in terms connectivity with far and rural areas where potentiality for growth lies.
- Mini technology centres: Modernization of existing Mini Technology Centres that can enable the state governments to facilities to supplement manufacturing, testing, packaging, R&D, product and process innovations and training for natural resources.
- Development of new and existing Industrial Estates– Government of India financial assistance will be provided for development of new and existing Industrial Estates, Flatted Factory Complexes. The infrastructure facilities will include power distribution system, water, telecommunication and few other factors like sewage and having best drainage system for industrial waste to move out.
Challenges to overcome
- There are challenges in this includes investments required for infrastructure development, a shortage of skilled labour, and difficulties in obtaining credit which are being taken care of step by step to ease of doing business.
- MSME’s are mostly located in industrial areas or rural areas and they are connected to urban areas via railways, roadways etc. so improvement in conditions of roads and highways was a great challenge for government since 2014.
- Without having a solid state of infrastructure that have power, water, roads, etc in rural areas were mostly poor and unreliable. One of the reasons for incurring high transaction costs.
- With the growth of the industrial sector, including MSMEs finding availability of adequate land for expansion of MSMEs was a task head for the government. This came with government providing ample opportunities to secure land in rural and semi urban areas.
- MSMEs operations are mostly crowded in small clusters near big manufacturing or production units where they find it challenge to operate with environmental and urban regulations
As we move ahead with Industry 4.0, everything is connected and that includes data and advance digital technology. This helps in analysing data to achieve desired outcomes and includes resources and manpower.
There are Gaps in achieving desired results in MSME sector
Gaps are more pronounced for the MSMEs due to lack of funds that require infrastructural over all hauling.
How do we cover the gaps to overcome MSME plight is the main question that arises even after the government and stakeholders taking a lot of steps.
The solution lies in big Infrastructure Development for MSMEs and the some of the suggestion the government has recommended. This includes Data on Infrastructure should be made on single portal. Construction of roads linking major cities and rural areas to ease supply chain provide smoother communication between parties.
Marketing Support for MSME via various channels to be developed and that includes participation of both govt. and private participation. Linking Infrastructure like Power and affordable land near the critical resource for the Industry and having a dedicated infrastructure for the Micro Enterprises in rural areas.
Supporting the MSME and Micro units to thrive
The government has created many rural industrial zones to promote micro level units in rural and semi urban areas and work is still going on to mobilize support, from local communities and youth s participation.
To increase number of micro units to come in functional state in rural areas and promote different types of small scale industries that have export potential.
Again this depends on baseline survey of the resources and skills available in the rural areas so that these resources and skills can be utilized by the entrepreneurs who set up their micro enterprises.
It is essential that along with the industrial infrastructure, social infrastructure like schools, entertainment facilities, shopping facilities will also have to be planned. For Micro Enterprises at the village and semi-urban level creating essential marketing channels to generate a revenue stream. To promote Micro units in the Rural Areas, Rural Industrial Zones can be created and this is being implemented by the government by creating SEZ.
There are network of technology centers for MSME’s from Existing TCsIGTR-Aurangabad, IDEMI-Mumbai, CTTC-Bubaneswar, IDTR-Jamshedpur to name a few.
And at the same time there are 4 MSME testing centers There are 4 MSME-TCs ( New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata & Chennai) & 7 MSME-TSs ( Jaipur, Hyderabad, Kolhapur, Pondicherry, Bhopal, Bangalore, Chenganacherry) are set up all over the Country.
The main activities of these Centers are to provide testing facilities to enable small industries to produce stores conforming to IS Specifications.
Testing facilities are provided in accordance with the requirements of DGS&D and other purchasing departments of State and Central Governments.
To provide testing facilities under pre shipment inspection scheme to facilitate export of small industries products and under quality marking scheme introduced by State Govts.
To help the individual units to set up in house testing arrangements in a more feasible and practical way. Further testing and calibration, as a measure to strengthen availability of trained manpower in the industry.
A strong policy system to support the MSME’s
To have a strong MSME and micro industry that can support the economy few polices are required that help sustain the in the long run.
They include having a clear Land use Policy for micro industries to set up.
Build more such places where Rental Factories can be set up ensuring ease of Doing Business is there
Smaller industrial townships across the country are coming up and have potential to thrive on small financial investment, are more practical for MSEs than large industrial townships
Renovation of existing Industrial Estates that can assist in set up and consolidation of Vacant Plots
Allocation of fund for industrial infrastructure in annual budget is being done by the government but overseeing if the money is flowing in right direction and reaching the hands of artisans and entrepreneurs who require fund to set up.
Acquiring those flatted Industrial Estates for setting up of Micro industries without adding any extra cost. Industrial Infrastructure Development Fund (IIDF) is a must and being done every year
Data infrastructure is the requirement of the day and having a data, help generate revenue by pushing goods and services in those areas where demand is high
Participation of private entity and other stake holders for development of Industrial estate is a must as funds shortages won’t be there.
Creation of dashboard for information in Industrial estates/parks as like Industrial information System will help to understand and map requirement and process them accordingly after discussion with labourers and entrepreneurs.
(Image courtesy:www.organicplanters.in)