We do not only need the manufacturing hubs, but we also need the value hubs

No. PR- 226

February 19, 2021

New Delhi

We do not only need the manufacturing hubs, but we also need the value hubs

The cutting edge of private sectors is the MSME. The Government and economy are blessed to have a great contribution from the MSME sector in terms of production leading to GDP growth deliberated

Shri Sailesh, IAS, Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises Government of India in Virtual Conference organized by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry on “New India for PSUs and MSMEs -Building Atmanirbhar Bharat”.

Shri Sailesh mentioned that we need to build our capabilities and emphasize our domestic production for global and domestic outreach at a globally competitive cost. The new paradigm framework in which the government is working on will make PSU a pivotal part and we have strength towards asset monetization in the brownfield project. We need to ensure that the desired results are achieved in the collaborative effect of the private sector to enhance wealth, improve R&D, and growth of the economy.

He further mentioned that with the announcements of the new PSU policy, the govt wishes to have a very strong & impactful public sector in a strategic sector. MSME has the potential in the sectors such as defense, infrastructure, manufacturing, power, petroleum, coal, mining, ports, airports, and many more which will help to create better running of government assets.

Shri Anurag Awasthi, Head -Training, Government e-Marketplace (GeM) Government of India discussed the objective, goal, and vision of GeM which has been putting diligent efforts in giving access to MSMEs in the market for attracting buyers. He also discussed the new developments done on the GeM portal for the MSMEs so that they participate in the public procurement seamlessly at the same time facilitate make in India, vocal for local and moving India towards Aatma Nirbhar.

Shri Ravi Tyagi, Chief General Manager, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) praised the govt’s incentives through which business units survived and sustained throughout pandemic alongside distress amongst the unorganized sector. He talked about the limelight of the new micro sector creating niche markets for a marketplace alongside facing regressive bank financing.

Shri Ketan Gaikwad, Managing Director and CEO Receivables Exchange of India Limited, while discussing the contribution of MSME to the Indian Economy mentioned that payment delay for MSMEs is a huge problem and discussed the government efforts to ease the problems faced by the MSMEs that has helped to mitigate these problems and foster development in the industry.

Shri M V Gowtama, Chairman and Managing Director Bharat Electronics Limited in his presentation on Building Aatmanirbhar Bharat- Promoting Indigenous production: challenges and issues for the PSUs discussed the expectations by the industry in indigenization that included customs duty, income tax incentive, simplified process for strategic acquisitions, reduction of cycle time for patents, duplication of R&D invest and collaboration with academic to meet iltu0disciplinary technologies.

Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal, President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in his presidential address deliberated the importance of the economy in driving development in the economy and country. He mentioned that Atmanirbhar Bharat Package announced by the Government for the MSME sector comprised of some major announcements to help the sector not only restart its operations but also provide newer opportunities to a large number of enterprises.

Mr. Aggarwal discussed that the Rs 3.0 lac crore ‘Emergency Credit Line’ mandated for providing collateral-free loans to MSMEs and the Stressed Asset Fund for helping MSMEs to reorganize their Balance Sheets were very effective financial measures to restore liquidity and financial health of MSMEs. Building demand and promoting the marketing of products from the MSME sector in line with the Aatmanirbhar program post the current pandemic situation, the Indian Public sector could play a major role in boosting the demand for products manufactured by MSMEs.

He further discussed that while the procurement by Government Agencies and PSUs from MSMEs is on the rise to achieve the target of 25% procurement from MSEs and the GeM platform is playing a key role in this, but very limited items and products are being sourced from this platform. There are still some issues being reported concerning payment delays which would need further improvement, lack of competitiveness but the integration of TReDS and GeM, presents a significant opportunity for lending Fintech players to offer supply chain finance products to MSMEs.

Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal emphasized that the change in the definition of MSMEs with the increased possibility of capital investment would surely make a large number of existing MSEs scale up their operations and rise to the next level. While India is entering into Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, MSMEs would significantly improve their competitive strength and contribution to the Indian Economy. India will be able to become Aatmanirbhar, compete with China, and become a $5-trillion economy by addressing the problems faced by small businesses.

Mr. Bijay Murmuria, Co-Chair, BFSI Committee, PHD Chamber while giving an industry outlook mentioned that the banking industry with its new reforms and developments are supporting the MSME sector in moving towards Aatma Nirbhar Bharat.

Mr. Mohit Jain, Chairperson, MSME Committee, PHD Chamber while discussing the potential of the MSME sector in the upliftment of the economy, discussed the challenges faced by the MSMEs that include the large informal sector, physical infrastructure bottlenecks; constraints in technology adoption; higher logistics cost, inadequate backward and forward linkages; lack of access to credit and risk capital; and the perennial problem of delayed payments, among others. He mentioned that MSME units can prosper only if there is a concerted effort at widening the market for their products. MSMEs need a lot of hand-holding and mentoring from various domain experts for their continuous growth for which the PHD Chamber is providing a rich platform to disseminate knowledge and mentoring to MSMEs in their various functional areas like banking, finance, marketing, exports, government procurement, and other areas.

Mr. Jyoti Prakash Gadia, Chairman, Banking & Financial Services Committee, PHD Chamber while giving an industry perspective mentioned India’s slowdown due to Covid-19 and PSUs upliftment and revival of the economy to get India out of the crisis. He talked about the significant role of PSUs in India’s sustainable growth. He discussed issues faced by the industry which included the need for a central depository of databases of MSMEs, how the service sector is being encouraged by the PSUs, consistent tender policies by PSUs, easy financing capabilities and accessibilities for MSMEs, and the requirement of the directory holding the govt’s incentives for MSMEs.

The conference was moderated by Dr. Ranjeet Mehta, Deputy Secretary-General, PHD Chamber, and was attended by many industry stalwarts pan- India.

Ends

Media Division

PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry