Speaking at a meeting in Kolkata on July 13, 2010 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Eastern Region, additional chief secretary of the Government of West Bengal’s Department of MSME Dr AK Chanda stressed on the need for a healthy relationship between large units and MSMEs for boosting productivity of smaller units.

“Large companies which procure product components from MSMEs can easily support the small units by helping them with technology upgradation, training them on how to increase production or product quality or even provide finance management tips. These efforts will not just help to increase the productivity of small units but also indirectly help the large firms, which will get better quality components from small vendors,” said Sudarshan Sareen, president of the All India Confederation of Small and Micro Industries Associations.

Significantly, a recent survey conducted by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) also raised the issue of non-availability of infrastructural support to MSMEs.

“We can benefit greatly if bigger companies helped us in skill or technological development. But often the larger units try to control the processes in MSMEs they help, which leads to plenty of complications,” said Nitin Singla, owner of Image Décor, a small-sized unit in Chandigarh which manufactures and supplies window blinds.

With industry bodies emphasising on the need for vendor development while pointing out the various benefits the MSME sector could reap out of the collaboration, small units can hope that large firms would lend them the necessary support.

Sreemita Bhattacharya