NEW DELHI, APRIL 3:
The categorisation of medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) for giving them benefits, should not lead to disincentivising such firms from growing beyond the threshold, President Pranab Mukherjee said here on Wednesday, while giving away national awards to 108 MSMEs.
Mukherjee said close to 95 per cent of MSME units were micro enterprises that employed around 69 per cent of the total sector’s workforce, and required support for their growth.
“This sector has great potential to be a true agent of socio-economic change. But for that, we must direct our efforts at increasing the competitiveness of this sector by enhancing the availability of institutional credit, promoting innovation and technology, providing adequate industrial infrastructure, meeting the demands for skill development and capacity building, and strengthening market support,” he said.
Mukherjee called for increasing the reach and coverage of financial institutions by expanding branch network to locations near industrial clusters.
He also sought the private sector’s active participation for rejuvenating the sector.
“Their partnership in creating a friendly business environment, especially by skill development, product promotion, and technology development, will pave the way for our MSME units to compete successfully with the best in the world,” he added.
He said MSMEs were the most crucial link between India’s economic growth and socio-economic transformation.
“This sector contributes about eight per cent of the country’s GDP, 45 per cent of the manufactured output and 40 per cent of the total exports,” he added.
