Bangalore, November 2014 – Small and medium enterprises in Karnataka have voiced concern over the State government’s alleged indifference to the issues affecting small enterprises.
“The government promptly responds to the concerns of large IT companies. It’s fine, but they should be equally proactive to SMEs also,” said Chidananda M Rajamane, President, Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA).
“It’s ironic because the volume of job creation relative to capital invested is much more in the SME sector,” he added.
Noting the recent developments on Infosys’ plan to relocate from Devanahalli to Electronic City and the speedy clearance given to Honeywell’s Rs.1373-crore project, Rajamane observed that while the government was right in responding with alacrity to their concerns, the same was sadly missing when it comes to meeting the long-pending requirements of the SMEs for industrial land, infrastructure, public procurement policy etc.
He said that while Honeywell’s investment of Rs.1,373 crore was expected to generate 500 jobs, a similar investment in creating industrial estates for MSMEs could generate several thousand jobs.
“We, therefore, appeal to the Chief Minister to show the same enthusiasm while addressing the needs of small entrepreneurs as the SME sector’s contribution to the economy is much more than the favoured sector,” Rajamane said. Business Line
