Government working on easier credit flow to MSME sector: Kalraj Mishra

The government is working towards removal of problems arising out of the credit guarantee trust fund in order to ensure easy credit flow for the micro, small and medium enterprises sector, union minister for micro, small and medium emprises Kalraj Mishra said today

Inaugurating a seminar on 'Financial Restructuring for MSMEs-Lifeline for Success,' organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) in New Delhi, the minister also said that the banking sector has a significant role to play in ensuring easy finance availability to the sector as they have a responsibility in development of MSMEs.

He said the MSME ministry is working on a format to streamline the process of filing entrepreneurs' memorandum (EM) through an online system. Further, he said, the ministry is also working towards fixing a deadline for procurement of NOC from concerned ministries to ensure that small entrepreneurs do not face any difficulties.

Considering the huge dearth of skilled labour being faced by the MSME sector, the government is working on joint skill development of labour and entrepreneurs, the minister said, adding, ''The whole idea for skill development of youth in the rural sector is to encourage them for entrepreneurship thereby imparting training through machines by setting up incubation centres on a wide scale''.

Putting a thrust on public-private partnership (PPP) model for growth and development of MSMEs, the minister said, ''Private sector should open technical institutions, tie up with enterprises and train youth in large numbers with a guarantee to provide jobs thereby contributing to the success of `Make in India' programme.''

The minister also said that in the future MSMEs will play a key role in India's economic growth.

Besides creating jobs, the boost to the manufacturing sector would be crucial to developing the country so as to better avail of the benefits of foreign direct investment in the country, he said. India, he noted, has a number of competitive advantages, including a domestic market comprising over 600 million rural consumers, a competitive wage structure and a large talent, pool including a strong engineering ecosystem.

The government's New Manufacturing Policy envisages enhancing the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 per cent within a decade and creating 100 million jobs on a sustainable basis. The key policy instruments for achieving this would include establishment of National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs), self governing and Autonomous Bodies for Industrial Townships and improving access to finance for SMEs in the manufacturing sector.

In this context, he lauded the launch of the `Zero Defect, Zero Effect' (ZED) campaign, which would go a long way to make Indian companies, especially the MSME sector, world class.

In line with the prime minister's speech and CII's agenda to make India a model inclusive nation with zero defects and maximum effect, the CII National Quality Summit discussed the way forward for India Inc to become ''Zero Defect, Zero Effect'' through an enabling environment, adopting excellence framework, systems and processes, incorporating the success factors of business models, consumer behavior, technology trends and future factories.

Meanwhile, the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) has initiated efforts for creating self-employment opportunities through an incubation programme. The NSIC incubation programme offers integrated support by way of providing hands-on training on working projects, besides providing necessary facilities for prospective entrepreneurs and startup companies to learn product manufacturing processes coupled with technology development, business development, etc under one roof.