Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry has decided to come out with a comprehensive policy for MSMEs, which will be drafted by a high powered committee to be headed by former cabinet secretary Prabhat Kumar.
Announcing this, MSME Minister Kalraj Mishra said the committee will submit its report as early as possible, but certainly not later than June.
At the moment there is no integrated approach for the development of MSME despite the fact that it accounted for 40 per cent of India’s manufacturing and 45 per cent of exports. “The idea is to integrate various policies pertaining to the sector and come out with one comprehensive policy,” Mishra said after launching a new web portal SMEpost.com here on Thursday.
SMEpost.com will celebrate the good work done by 4-5 crore MSMEs in the country, which is one of key drivers of India’s economic development and inclusive growth in view of its huge job creation potential especially in rural areas. Even when India’s economy slowdown in 2012-13 and 2013-14, it was MSMEs, which propelled the economy as large corporate failed to keep up the momentum due falling demand arising out of global meltdown.
Once the MSME draft policy is readied by Prabhat Kumar, it will be open for public debate before finalizing the policy, Mishra said.
Mishra said the decision to have a comprehensive policy was taken after MSME Board meeting in which 83 small scale industry associations participated from all over the country. All of them suggested that there was a crying need for such a policy as at the moment there is no single policy for MSMEs.
The Prabhat Kumar committee will also take into consideration all the suggestion, which have already been made by the small scale industry associations. The associations have emphasized the need for integration of the MSMEs requirement of raw material, capital, manufacturing and marketing. These will be critical inputs in the MSME policy formulation, Mishra said.