Export promotion body demands separate policy for MSMEs

An export promotion body on Monday suggested the government to bring out a separate policy for micro, small and medium units to address their problems. The Export Promotion Council (EPC) also urged the Uttar Pradesh government to link such a policy with its one-district one-product scheme.

The EPC highlighted various problems like credit availability and fund cost faced by MSMEs and exhorted the state and central governments and the RBI to address these issues on a priority basis. "Despite the significant contributions of the MSME sector, this sector is still facing several challenges such as availability of adequate and timely credit, high cost of credit, collateral requirements, access to equity capital and revival of sick units," EPC Chairman D S Rawat said here.

"In view of these problems, the governments need to bring a separate policy for the micro and small industry and UP government should link its ambitious one-district one-product scheme with it," Rawat stressed. To help the sector, the EPC also announced a four-day summit and trade fair on Agro-rural entrepreneurship, unleashing opportunities for youth, women and artisans on February 13-16 in Lucknow followed by SC-ST Entrepreneurship and Women Empowerment in Purvanchal in May next year.

The trade fair will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will also attend, Rawat pointed out. During the press conference, Rawat and Chairman of the UP Chapter of the EPC Harinarayan Rajbhar jointly released the study on MSME Sector - Uttar Pradesh.

The state has acquired number one position both in numbers and employment. Uttar Pradesh has registered a 100 per cent growth in micro, small and medium enterprises between 2015-16 and 2017-18 from 44.03 lakh to 88.89 lakh, according to the study, according to the study undertaken by the MSME Export Promotion Council (MSME EPC).

The state has been on an average adding 15 lakh new MSME units every year since 2015-16 and providing jobs to more than 165 lakh people, 27.27 lakh to female and 137.92 lakh to male, the study says.

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