In an endeavour to boost the MSME sector in the country, the MSME Ministry is taking initiatives to get specialised and technical services experts to help units in the sector. Notably, MSME Ministry additional secretary and development commissioner Madhav Lal has urged industry bodies to support MSMEs in accessing professional guidance in this regard.

According to Giriraj Kumar Bagri, owner of Shruti International, a small-sized unit in Guwahati which supplies electrical goods, “Small players like us would certainly gain from guidance by technical experts. They could assist us in managing procurement and transportation-related processes, which are usually quite time-consuming.”

Significantly, Mr Lal has also informed that more than 50% of the recommendations of the Prime Minister’s Task Force on MSMEs on issues such as credit and capital access, infrastructure development, market development and technology adoption have already been implemented.

In this context, Harmeet Singh Arora, owner of Rayman Exports, a mid-sized unit in Udaipur engaged in manufacturing and export of Indian handicrafts, said, “The handicrafts sector, for one, has definitely benefited from the government policies. Even the recently announced Foreign Trade Policy features sops allotted to our sector. Although 2009-10 was slow in terms of trade for us, we hope to double our turnover by the end of the current financial year.”

With the government seeking to boost the productivity of the MSME sector and small units acknowledging the government-sponsored benefits, future prospects of the MSME industry certainly look bright.

Sreemita Bhattacharya