In an endeavour to help micro and small industries in Tamil Nadu (TN), the Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association (TANSTIA) jointly with other district-level MSME associations and Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (CODISSIA) will organise the state-level Small and Tiny Industries Convention (STICON) on August 1, 2010 in Coimbatore. The industrial convention will address issues faced by the MSME sector in the state.

“This will be a very crucial industrial meet because delegates from both Central and state government are likely to attend the event. The convention will discuss issues like credit flow problems faced by MSMEs and the need for improving existing infrastructure in this sector,” said K Gopalakrishnan, general secretary of TANSTIA to a Bizxchange correspondent.

Mr Gopalakrishnan added that the roadmap for the MSME sector in TN for the next 5 years will also be discussed at the convention.

“Electricity happens to be one of our biggest issues because not only the cost per unit of power is high in the state, the supply also wavers often. This in turn increases our production costs. Therefore, this issue should be addressed immediately,” said S Manickavasakam, owner of Vignesh Enterprises, a small-sized unit in Coimbatore which manufactures food processing machines.

The convention will also seek the setting up of an Industrial Training Institute in Coimbatore and a Micro Industrial Estate to help MSMEs in the state.

Sreemita Bhattacharya