Addressing the inaugural session of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Conclave (MSME) organized by Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC) India on January 20, Ministry of MSME Secretary, B.B. Swain said that for the MSMEs to achieve high growth the two most significant interventions required are related to credit assistance and technology upgradation.  

There is tremendous potential for Indian engineering MSMEs to be integrated into the Global Value Chain due to their manufacturing cost advantage, said the MSME Secretary. He also noted that the Ministry of MSME has been working closely with other Ministries and Departments to facilitate the ease of doing business for MSMEs. 

“The ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ announcements have focused on easing access to registering as MSMEs, easing their access to credit and providing them the much-needed protection as far as global tenders are concerned,” he said.  

Swain informed the participants that MSMEs engaged in the manufacturing of engineering products are about 29% of the 67 lakh MSMEs which have registered since July 1, 2020, on the Udyam registration portal.  

“MSME units are together capable of constituting a complete supply chain and being globally competitive because of their diverse products ranging from intermediate to final products,” Swain said. 

EEPC chairperson, Mahesh Desai, said that MSMEs need to catch up a lot on the technological front as this is crucial to increase India’s share in the global value chain.  

Following the onset of the pandemic, large corporations in the developed world have been looking at India as an alternative destination for manufacturing,” Desai said that the MSME sector contributes around 30% to India’s GDP and has a 50% share in the country’s exports, he said.  

“The significance of the MSME sector in India has long been recognized and its potential has also been identified. In the National Manufacturing Policy, manufacturing output has been targeted to increase to 25% of GDP,” he stated.