NATIONAL
Govt launches handloom
cluster development scheme
The Minister of State for
Textiles, Shri E.V.K.S. Elangovan, informed the Lok Sabha
in a written reply to a question by Shri G. Karunakara Reddy
that the Government has launched a new scheme called “Integrated
Handloom Cluster Development Scheme” in the year 2005-06
for holistic and integrated development of 20 handloom clusters
in a timeframe of four years at a total cost not exceeding
Rs. 2 crore per cluster.
These clusters are spread
in 12 States, including the State of Karnataka each covering
about 5000 handlooms. This cluster approach will not replace
the cooperative approach for the development of handloom sector,
the Minister said. more
India : IL&FS Cluster sign MOU
with POY producer Nakoda
Nakoda Textile Industries
Ltd has informed that the Nakoda Textile Group has floated
a special purpose vehicle named Surat Super Filament Ltd with
the main objective of purchasing POY (Partially Oriented Yarn)
from the market, get it processed from Textile Park units
and the sale the Texturised yarn in the market.
An MOU has been signed with
IL&FS Cluster Development Initiative Ltd a wholly owned
subsidiary of IL&FS Ltd, a leading institute in the field
of Infrastructure Development and the Nodal agency for integrated
textile park scheme approved by the Ministry of Textile, Government
of India for assisting the SPV in development of business
and financial plan. more
MSMEs may land 10% advances from banks
Banks may have to earmark
10% of their advances every year for the small-scale sector
if the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) endorses a proposal mooted
by the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).
The ministry has made out
a case for fixing a sub-target for loans to the small-scale
sector — comprising small and micro enterprises —
to ensure a more serious commitment to the sector. It has
cited the recommendations of a parliamentary committee to
bolster its case. more
SEZs prospers with SMEs
Last week, a top executive
at Reliance Industries made a presentation on Special Economic
Zones (SEZ) to the company’s top brass. It was about
a strategy to market the company’s SEZs and the long-term
growth plan in the new business. But what was baffling in
the presentation was how India’s biggest private sector
firm was acknowledging that it was impossible to grow without
the support of small companies. One of the suggestions during
the discussion that ensued was that if a small or medium-sized
company (SME) was unable to pay the upfront costs towards
setting up a unit (in the SEZ), Reliance could work out flexible
conditions.
It’s true. If you are
a small or a mid-sized export-based enterprise, and you are
finding it difficult to meet the escalating real estate costs
while setting up a new unit, you need not worry anymore. Corporate
India’s big names are here to bail you out, for their
own sake. more
India: National Awards for Micro, Small
and Medium Enterprises
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan
Singh gave away National Awards for Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSMEs) at a function here. Following is the text
of the speech of the Prime Minister on the occasion:
“I take this opportunity
to congratulate all the winners of National Awards a this
function. I commend my colleague Shri Mahabir Prasadji, and
his Ministry, for instituting these awards.
A few months back, I was at
an award ceremony for small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
in Mumbai and I was greatly impressed by the tremendous achievements
of those award winners as well. more
Government focus on less capital intensive
sectors
In the Rajya Sabha the government
explained the initiatives taken for textile industries such
as internationally competitive tax rates and infrastructure
support.
Initiatives taken for the
development of food procession, leather products, footwear,
textiles, tourism and construction in Budget 2007-08 includes
the Technology Up-gradation funds scheme for textiles which
is proposed to be continued in the Eleventh Five Year Plan,
additional integrated textiles Parks have been sanctioned
for enabling textile sector to meet global demand, a cluster
approach for the development of handlooms sector has been
introduced in 2005-06.
Additional 100-150 clusters
are proposed to be taken up in 2007-08. A credit policy for
small and medium enterprises has been announced in August
2005. more
After automobile and IT, next shout
is food clusters
For Pune, cluster development
is a way of life. After making waves with its cluster approach
in the automobile and information technology sectors and already
making its shout heard about intentions in the bio-technology
sector, Pune is all set to promote a food cluster. Clearly,
not as big a draw in terms of investment potential as the
automobile and IT sectors, on the cards is an investment mark-up
of Rs 100 crore for the latest foray in the region.
The blueprint for developing
Pune as a food cluster has been put in place with western
zone chapter of the All India Food Processor’s Association
(AIFPA) executive committee on Friday passing a proposal to
promote the city as a food cluster under a provision of the
Ministry of Commerce. more
India to Boost its Food Processing
Sector
The Indian government recently
approved an integrated plan which aims at increasing the size
of the processed food sector and boosting the income of the
farmers.
The Cabinet of India on June 21, 2007, granted its approval
to an integrated plan, which aims to promote India’s
food processing sector and boost the country’s agricultural
business.
The approved integrated plan
would help India to realize its Vision 2015 by increasing
the size of the processed food sector, boosting the income
of the farmers as well as generating additional employment
opportunities.
The approved integrated plan
and directives for the food-processing sector include, clusterization
of farming on the basis of contract farming or various other
informal or formal arrangements and comprehensive mapping
of the India’s food cluster. more
India - Scheme to increase cotton productivity
Following drastic reduction
in area under cotton cultivation in the district, the agriculture
department has planned to introduce a 'cotton mini-mission'
programme to increase productivity.
After the cotton cultivation
area shrunk from 8,000 hectares to 2,000 hectares, the department
decided to execute the 'special cluster approach' strategy
in 14 of the 19 blocks on an outlay of Rs.22 lakh during the
current fiscal.
Under the programme, efforts
will be made to increase productivity in rain-fed areas through
supply of quality seeds and other assistance to farmers. The
programme will focus on integrated cotton development activities
in clusters that have a continuous stretch of five to 10 hectares
suitable for cultivation. A total of 2,750 farmers under the
Tamil Nadu Women in Agri Business and Extension Scheme, Farmer
Interest Groups, Farmers Advisory Committee and Water Users'
Association will be covered. more
FCIK to launch Awareness program about
CGFS
The Federation Chamber of
Industries Kashmir (FCIK) in association with Small Industries
Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and J & K Bank is organizing
an awareness programme to disseminate all relevant information
about the features and implementation of ‘Credit Guarantee
Fund Scheme’ which provide an opportunity for the new
and existing micro and small scale industrial entrepreneurs
to avail loan facilities upto Rs 50 lakhs without any collateral
security or third party guarantee. Giving details of the programme,
the President FCIK, Shakeel Qalander said “Not many
entrepreneurs in the state know that Ministry of Micro, Small
and Medium Enterprises and Small Industries Development Bank
of India have jointly set up Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for
Small Industries (CGTSI).
The fund guarantees upto 75%
of the credit risk of the loans of the lending banks and institutions
in favour of the micro and small industrial units including
industrial related service units subject to a loan cap of
Rs 50 lakhs and guarantee cap of Rs 37.50 lakhs.” more
Five centres planned to train workers
IL&FS Cluster Development
Initiative (IL&FS CDI) has embarked on a massive programme
to train five lakh unemployed poor youth from rural parts
of the country by partnering with technical institutions across
the country and funding from the Union Rural Development Ministry,
G. Somasundaram, regional manager, South India, IL&FS
CDI, has said. more
Cluster approach mooted for rubber
Rubber industry has not grown
adequately in Kerala despite the existence of large rubber
plantations in the State, K.T. Thomas, president of All India
Rubber Industries Association, said here on Thursday. There
is immense scope for development of the industry in the State,
he said.
The rubber manufacturing industries
are shifting their base from Europe to Asia. China has benefited
from this shift, but India, being a democratic country, is
more suitable for setting up of rubber-based industries. While
the per capita consumption of rubber in developed countries
is 12 kg, it is only 1 kg in India. The highest consumption
has been registered in the U.S., followed by China. India
remains fourth.
He said rubber industry was
labour-oriented. With its rich labour force, India remained
an ideal country for the growth of the industry. In fact,
India had the capability of becoming the leader in the industry.
more
Delhi exporters look to Tamil Nadu
Of the 20 handloom clusters
in India, two from Tamil Nadu and one each from Orissa and
Bihar have generated interest among the Delhi-based exporters
at ‘Handloom Clusters Expo 2007’ held recently
in Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, according to Co-optex Special
Officer and Managing Director M.P. Nirmala.
During a buyer-seller meet,
held as part of the exhibition, exporters evinced interest
in lungies, saris, silk furnishing, apron and cushion cover
from the Thiruvannamalai cluster, shirting material from Kurunjipadi,
voil furnishing from Tiruchi and tie and dye saris from Shonapur
in Orissa. more
IMA welcomes verdict on Novartis
The Indian Medical Association
Kerala Branch has welcomed the Madras High Court’s verdict
dismissing a petition filed by Swiss pharmaceutical major
Novartis challenging the patents (Amendment) Act of 2005.
According to a press release
here on Sunday from the secretary of the IMA Kerala Branch
R Ramesh - the verdict helps to honour India’s right
to safeguard the interest of its people by the way of providing
medicines to the millions of poor people at an affordable
price there by protect the health of the people. more
Unido proposes strategy to aid SME
clusters
The United Nations Industrial
Development Organisation (Unido) has proposed a five year
country strategy for India (2007-2012) with a focus on development
of clusters for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) accompanied
by cooperation among developing countries.
Unido's South Asia head Philippe
Scholtes told Hindustan Times that the UN was currently preparing
a medium term roadmap titled 'Integrated Programme of Cooperation
between India and Unido.'
"In consultation with the Indian government we have identified
five focus areas for our future programmes in the country.
These include: development of SMEs, rural industrial development
and women entrepreneurship, industrial information and technology
promotion, environment and energy and innovation for international
competitiveness," Scholtes said. more
ICICI Bank signs MoU with MITCON
ICICI Bank India’s second
largest bank today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
with MITCON Consultancy Services Limited to jointly provide
one-stop solutions to industries for Clean Development Mechanism
(CDM) projects and emissions trade including Carbon Credit
business.
The MOU was signed by Mr.
Sanjeev Mantri, General Manager, ICICI Bank and Dr. Pradeep
Bavadekar, Managing Director, MITCON, in Mumbai in the presence
of Mr. A. T Kusre Chairman, MITCON. The arrangement will benefit
a large number of SME units who will be able to avail a complete
package of services through guidance from reliable partners
with proven experience in the Carbon Credit business with
the backing of ICICI Bank. more
Work on 20 industrial clusters to begin
in September
Work on the 20 industrial
clusters that the Central government has approved out of the
91 that the state government had identified and sent to the
Central government for approval is slated to begin from September,
said the principal secretary of the department of micro and
small scale enterprises, textiles and tourism, Dr G D Gautama.
“The cluster development
executives (CD executives) who would be required to supervise
the operations of the clusters have already been trained by
personnel from the central and state government, and we are
all set to begin,” said Gautama. The total project cost
for the 20 clusters would be Rs 26 crore, added Gautama while
attending the induction programme of BNCCI’s diploma
courses on entrepreneurship. more
Hot, hot 'ghost chili' gets ready to
break out of its isolated homeland in northeast India
The farmer, a quiet man with
an easy smile, has spent a lifetime eating a chili pepper
with a strange name and a vicious bite. His mother stirred
it into sauces. His wife puts it out for dinner raw, blood-red
morsels of pain to be nibbled — carefully, very carefully
— with whatever she's serving.
Around here, in the hills
of northeastern India, it's called the "bhut jolokia"
— the "ghost chili." Anyone who has tried
it, they say, could end up an apparition. more
Outsourcing: An important tool for
exporting SMEs
In the last years there attention
has been driven to the important role of the small and medium
enterprises in national development because they represent
more than 90% of Peruvian businesses and employ about 50%
of the economic active population, even though most of these
companies are still on the informal side of the economy.
Then, the achievement of challenges
such as the formalization and the consolidation of a sustainable
growth of these small production units would have a significant
impact in employment quality and tax collection between other
benefits, and that is why the development strategy of the
actual government cannot avoid the responsibility or harmonizing
politics around the goal of promoting efficient and productive
SMEs. more
CII sets up National Committee of IP
Owners
CII takes a lead to form
a National Committee of Intellectual Property Owners. This
has been formed to address the Comprehensive needs of Intellectual
Property Owners of India .It would emerge as a nodal committee
which would strive towards making India a truly ‘IP
Savvy Country’ encompassing IPR Policy, Protection &
Enforcement issues in tandem with CII National theme for 2007
-08 - Building People, Building India. more
INTERNATIONAL
Rwanda’s Ambassador Calls On Dr. Chandrapal
H.E. Lt. General Kayumba Nyamwasa,
Ambassador of the Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda called
on Dr. Chandrapal, Secretary, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
here today. Dr. Chandrapal informed the Ambassador of the
immense potential of the the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Sector of India. He further stated that the Ministry of Micro,
Small & Medium Enterprises propose to participate in the
forthcoming fairs in Rwanda through various wings of the Ministry
viz. National Small Industries Corporation, KVIC, Coir Board
etc. The products to be displayed in the fair will come under
one roof called “MSME India”. Rwanda’s MSMEs
would get an opportunity to view the new trends and developments
in the MSME Sector of India including trainers’ training,
capacity building and related areas, he added. more
US-based consortium to set up IT campus
US-based Small and Medium
Enterprises Consortium (SMEC) will invest Rs. 2,500 crore
to Rs. 3,000 crore in the first phase of its proposed information
technology cluster and create 25,000 jobs in the State.
Disclosing this at a news
conference here late on Tuesday, Minister for Information
Technology R. Damodar Reddy said that about 300 SMEs (turnover
ranging from Rs. 20 crore to Rs. 400 crore) in the IT sector
had come forward to form into a consortium. more
NSTDA committee sets future direction
Becoming a leading research-and-development
organisation on the world stage, the National Science and
Technology Development Agency has set up the NSTDA International
Advisory Committee (IAC) to advise the agency on its activities
and direction while strengthening collaboration with other
countries in science and technology development.
Set up five months ago, the
committee earlier this month conducted a two-day annual meeting
to review NSTDA's activities on the development of science
and technology in Thailand. more
First-ever SMEs policy announced: Policy
aimed at poverty reduction and jobs creation
The first-ever small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) policy aimed at creating a conducive environment
for the development of small business units across the country;
thereby stimulating job creation and poverty reduction, with
an outlay of Rs 13.128 billion was announced here on Wednesday.
According to the SMEs policy,
the government has to work mainly in four sectors, which are:
Small Business Development Centre, Credit Information Bureau,
Business Cluster and Credit Enhancement Mechanism. more
ARTICLES
With SMERA ratings it is no more difficult to prove your worth’
If proving the creditability
and debt repayment capability to the lending institutions
is a problem that keeps your unit from availing a oan, here
is a breather. The Small and Medium Enterprise Rating Agency
of India Limited (SMERA) can solve your problem by providing
you “comprehensive, transparent and reliable ratings
which can help facilitate credit from the financial institutions
to you.”
“SMERA is the first
rating agency of India that primarily focuses on the small
and medium enterprise segment and provide rating about the
health of a unit and progress made by it over years,”
said Monisha Sharma, Cluster Development Manager, SMERA in
a program organised by Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir
(FCIK) here few days ago. more
SMEs get support on capacity building,
competitiveness
A GROUP of social entrepreneurs
are determined to help empower small and medium enterprises
(SMEs) with capacity building and competitiveness programs
to facilitate their growth and sustainability.
But even as the BSO (Business
Support Organizations) Network implements its action plans
towards this objective, members of the network also gear up
for the challenge with their own training programs and advocacy
activities. more
EVENTS
Handloom clusters expo 2007
The Office of Development
Commissioner (Handlooms) has launched an Integrated Handloom
Cluster Development Programme in 20 selected handloom clusters
spread over 13 States of the country.
The programme launched in
2006 has so far attempted to evolve new products and designs
among the niche products being manufactured in the cluster
with the help of reputed designers from NID and NIFT.
In addition the quality upgradation
of the products like dyeing have been also given an integral
look by the capacity building and skill development programmes
of the Dyers in the respective clusters.
Over and above several other
institutional innovations in the form of Self Help Groups,
Consortiums and Producers Company have been attempted to adhere
to the market norms and provide a common platform for the
buyers to interact as regards the timeliness and quality standards.
more
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