Govt. is Committed to Take MSMEs Global: Secretary MSME Ministry

Government of India is gearing up its commitment towards MSMEs to them global. Effort are getting made, policies are getting framed to make them financially sound so that they could scale up to meet international quality standards.

“We understand the potential of Indian MSMEs. We also understand the challenges that they are facing. There are around 60 million MSMEs in India and they contribute 90% to the industrial sector of the country. It is time for these MSMEs to look beyond the borders and showcase their skills and excellence to the global market,” said Dr. Arun Kumar Panda, Secretary, Ministry of MSME, Government of India, at the first World Trade Expo 2017 in Mumbai.

“The integration of India’s khadi and village industries, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the global value chain is important. India’s MSMEs and rural industries are known for ‘frugal innovation’ and they need to scale up their operation to global level,” Mr. Panda added.

World Trade Expo 2017 was jointly organized by All India Association of Industries (AIAI) and World Trade Centre Mumbai. B. H. Anil Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of MSME, Government of India was also present on the occasion.

Representatives from 37 countries, five states and 30 industry clusters from India participated in the event which was held on November 16 and 17, 2017.

In his remarks, Dean, Consular Corps in Mumbai, Dr. Norbert Révai-Bere, Consul General of Hungary in Mumbai said, “Incredible India is a land of opportunity. This event offers best opportunity for Hungary to build network and establish sustainable partnership with Indian business.”

Hungary showcased its strengths in the areas such as water management, technology transfer, education and trade.

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu in a video message said, “The Indian economy is growing faster than before. Size of the Indian economy shall grow from USD 2.5 trillion to USD 5 trillion and it will become the 3rd largest economy in the next few years. With growth in the economy, our international trade will also grow. I am sure this expo will help foreign countries understand India and its economy better in promoting trade.”

Mr. Prabhu said initially the Goods and Services Tax (GST) had some issues which are now being sorted out but GST will prove more business opportunities and better growth. “After reforms like GST the world is looking more seriously towards India as trade and investment hub,” he added.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade believes that MSMEs would contribute substantially to enable India to meet high exports targets.

“I am confident that events like this will set pace for export-led growth in India. This event is a timely intervention to promote exports from MSMEs and village industries,” Dr. Sonia Sethi, IAS, Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Mumbai said.

“India’s foreign trade policy aims to increase the share of Indian exports in world exports to 3.5% from the current 2%. India’s Commerce Ministry has highlighted the need to shift our focus to emerging sectors and promote the 10 items which are in the bottom of exported items list,” she added. 

Dr. Sethi said DGFT would be happy to associate with trade bodies to promote India’s international trade.

Meanwhile efforts are on to give a boost to the Khadi and Village Industry which has an annual sales turnover of Rs 50,000 crore and that provides employment to more than 10 million people in the country. The Government in a pro active measure is ensuring that leading textile companies like Raymond and Grasim promote Khadi as a premium fabric in a big way so that the consumption increases sharply.

Vijay Kalantri, President, All India Association of Industries (AIAI) and Vice Chairman, World Trade Centre Mumbai in his address said, “The 37 countries which had come forward account for 17% of India’s total trade. There is great potential to increase this share to 25% in the course of time.”

He said the objective of the event was to improve India’s international trade by supporting MSMEs, industry clusters, khadi and village industries and start-up companies. “The event also promotes India’s ambitious policies such as Start-up India, Digital India and Make in India”. We expect 50 countries to participate next time.”

He said the government must support the MSME sector through policy initiatives. “The Ministry of MSMEs must hold periodic interactions with the regional MSME associations to understand their grievances and resolve them.”

He also suggested Government of India to revive Standing Committees for promote export and support MSMEs. He also recommended the adoption of the concept ‘One Village, One Product’ to encourage grassroot entrepreneurs in villages across the country.

The event was attended by Ambassadors, Consul Generals, representatives of MSMEs, industry clusters, women-owned enterprises, start-up companies and others.

The participating countries and bilateral chambers included Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Russia, Botswana, Brazil, Congo, Gabon, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Georgia, Fiji, Indonesia, Hungary, Jordan, Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Norway, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Rwanda, The Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Basque Region of Spain, Lesotho and South Korea.