Clusterkraft Newsletter

The 'cluster approach' should be taken to help the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME) sector tide over the present economic recession, Union Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Saturday (21st February 2009). "There is need for a cluster approach for the MSMEs to tide over the economic crisis. For a single entrepreneur, it will be difficult to raise finance from his own resources," he said, adding that financial help needed by the MSME units could be provided only by banks and institutions. Mukherjee was launching the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)'s 'Rural Industries' programme here in Murshidabad district. More…

Pune: The food and vegetable cluster in Pune region can expect exports from the region to triple from Rs 150 crore to Rs 450 crore in the next few years, once the Business Development Service (BDS) that was launched on Wednesday gets underway, said the stakeholders at a press conference in the city at the MCCIA. "We expect exports from this region to shoot up; to triple in the next few years. In the last financial year, Rs 150 crore worth of food products was exported," said Ajay Mehta, director, Governing council of National Agriculture and Food Analysis and Institute (NAFARI), which is a partnering institution for the BDS project. More…

KANPUR: It won't be long enough when Kanpur gives a tough fight to Ahmedabad in the production of quality soaps and detergent products. Going by the micro small enterprises cluster development programme, a soap and detergent cluster in the city would be developed in joint effort with the UP soap association (UPSA). Interestingly, it would be a step forward in bringing back the lost sheen of the city in the domestic and international market with the increased production of soaps and detergents of good quality. Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSME) Development Institute in a joint effort with the UPSA would soon be developing More…

Karnataka to promote e-PCOs

Bangalore (PTI): Karnataka Government on Friday said it would promote setting up of electronic public call offices (e-PCOs) to popularise use of internet in rural areas. "The government will offer Rs 20 lakh susidy for each of the IT related units established in Gulbarga", Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said while presenting the 09-10 budget in the state assembly. In accordance with the recommendation of the Biotechnology vision group, it has been decided to establish bio-tech parks in prominent cities, away from Bangalore, he said. A sum of Rs 10 crore has been sanctioned to the state owned KEONICS More…

Expert panel to help food industry in Pune

PUNE: The Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) and National Agriculture and Food Analysis and Research Institute (NAFARI) recently announced the launch of a consultancy services panel for the food processing industry. The panel comprises of legal experts from various fields including the food processing industry to provide guidance, especially to start-up companies in the Pune Food and Vegetable Processing Cluster. "Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has been entrusted with the responsibility to implement the Government of India project for Business Development More…

The industrial clusters form the backbone of the small scale industry in India. But due to their small size, the enterprises are unable to access credit facilities from banks. But that is all set to change now, with the leading banks in the country, adopting 48 industrial clusters in Orissa, a state, located on the eastern coast of India. This move on the part of the banks is expected to improve the flow of credit and help in their overall development. These clusters range across all sectors like, handloom, foundry, engineering tools, food processing, pharmaceuticals etc. The leading banks of India like State Bank of India, Small Industries More…

A key challenge facing the Indian automobile industry is enabling component MSMEs to achieve competitiveness in the fast-changing scenario. SMEs face huge challenges in developing world-class component manufacturing units suitable for new vehicle technologies, which are increasingly being driven by considerations of environmental protection and enhanced safety. In addition, auto firms are now expecting component suppliers to participate with them on after-sales service to provide quick services to customers and to develop a substantial information base on usage, failures and their impact on the performance of vehicles. More…

After the approval of a mega food park in Pune, the city's food processing industry got another boost with the launch of a pilot project to promote the fruit and vegetable processing cluster in Pune. The idea is to expand existing business and attract more investments in this segment. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) will implement this Government of India project and carry out business development services for micro, small and medium enterprises. This is among 25 clusters (identified in India) to be developed as role models. Pune has been identified as a fruit and vegetable cluster SIDBI will be partnered More…

The park would consist of an Incubation center and Technology Development Centre, housing biotechnology companies, drug discovery companies, outsourcing firms etc. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA: The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) will setup a state-of-the-art Life Science Park in Kerala, under public 'private partnership mode.' The park will come up at 260 acres of land at Veiloor Village near Thonnakkal, in Thiruvananthapuram. The park will be a geographic cluster of industries in the field of biotechnology and nano technology, research institutions and sci-tech academia. KSIDC also envisages More…

Florida Institute hosts meeting to encourage development of Florida's innovation clusters

The Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research (The Institute), Florida's one-stop-shop for new venture creation, recently hosted the meeting of the Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Innovation Caucus, a group of business and academic leaders who gather each month to encourage development of Florida's innovation clusters and a knowledge-based work force. The caucus was formed a year ago following the development of Vision 2030: Florida in the New Economy and the identification of the six pillars of Florida's economy including talent, innovation, infrastructure, business climate, governance and quality of life. More…

Agriculture Minister announces £100 million funding for Rural Development Programme

Agriculture Minister Michelle Gildernew MP MLA announced the proposed allocation of almost £100 million to seven local council groupings to fund vital aspects of the Rural Development Programme. Seven "clusters", each comprising a number of district councils, will have access to the funding to deliver the Programme and inject money, employment and resources into rural communities across the North. The Minister said: "This money will help to improve the quality of life in rural areas by supporting a wide range of activities. "This will include diversification into non agricultural activities, business creation, village renewal and development More…

KUALA LUMPUR, (Bernama) -- Majority of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) expect a severe contraction in the local economy, mainly in the first half of the year, according to HSBC Bank Malaysia. As a result, the SMEs do not have plans to expand their businesses in 2009, said the bank's director SME, insurance and investment, Peter Cheah. This, he said, was revealed in the semi-annual HSBC Asia Pacific Small and Business Confidence Monitor survey conducted in the fourth quarter of 2008 by research firm TNS. In the survey covering 3,000 companies in Asia, of which 300 were Malaysian companies More…

VietNam Net Bridge - The Italian Government will support SME cluster development in Viet Nam with more than US$3.87 million in the form of a technical assistance grant during 2009-2011. The funds are for the SME Cluster Development project, the agreement for which was signed here yesterday by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Embassy of Italy and the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). The project aims to develop the capacity of associations and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the three pilot sectors, which have yet to be determined take part in partnerships with Italian associations More…

Montana is bursting with skilled artisans creating unique works, from pottery to textiles to paintings that reflect the state's beauty. And while Montanans and visitors provide a decent market for those artisans, a lot of opportunity is being missed, said Geoff Sutton, project manager with the Montana World Trade Center. "Eighty percent of all craft in America is sold east of the Mississippi River," Sutton said. "What we see in Montana on a day-to-day basis sort of looks ordinary to those of us fortunate enough to live here; but put that same work in another region of the country, and it looks extraordinary. So we're trying More…

New Zealand falling behind in computer science education, says Wayne Mapp

New Zealand needs a broad boost in ICT expertise to help see its way out of hard economic times, says Research, Science and Technology Minister Wayne Mapp. Improving the ICT capability of the general population and using the power of the internet on offer are two ways to deal with the economic recession, he says. However, this will require educating the workforce in what ICT can do for their particular sector, he told the Australasian Computer Science Week cluster of conferences (ACSW2009), held in Wellington late last month. "We will need our tertiary institutions to take responsibility for this," he told an audience More…

The world had witnessed a financial tsunami in 2008 and the effect is still lingering. Officially, the United States has been in a recession for at least a year or so. And, as the author pens down this article news from the United Kingdom is such that the recession has been officially declared there. Although India and Asian economies are not totally decoupled from this global economic tsunami, the effect is not as harsh as in the developed economies. Recent statistics indicate that Asia grew around 8.7% while banks were bellying-up in the United States. It is expected that China's GDP will grow around 8% and India More…

Increasing competition and globalisation, along with the need to produce quality products at best prices, have prompted the industry to introduce new product development methods with modern technology. The need to evolve technologically superior methods of product development holds true, especially for players in the SME segment. The small and medium enterprise sector is widely regarded as the engine of the Indian economy. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) contribute significantly to industrial, economic, technological and regional development in all developed and developing economies. More…

Non-Tariff Barriers are affecting the export competitiveness of Indian SMEs. It is time the issues are addressed SMALL and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in the growth and development of an economy. Given their potential to generate employment, foster technical innovation and entrepreneurship and raise exports, SMEs need to assume centre-stage in India's trade policy. Their importance in the Indian economy is underscored by the fact that SMEs account for about 90% of the total industrial units in India and provide employment to more than three crore individuals. More…

Development policies for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMES) in India

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector has been an integral component of the industrial sector. The MSE sector has been accorded special status and importance in the Five-Year Plans since inception in view of the advantages it offers for better utilisation of resources of capital and skill at the local level. The continuous support provided to the sector in the form of incentives, infrastructural facilities and other assistance in the industrial policy resolutions has facilitated the sector to acquire a place of prominence in the socio-economic development of the country. The number of enterprises in the MSE sector More…

For the past year, our agency has sponsored a monthly Tech Social for local businesses and those interested in learning something new in the world of technology. These sessions are designed to encourage business to get to know one another, share ideas, learn and explore opportunities of mutual interest. Our latest Tech Social coincided with the opening of the business incubation centre, Ingeonuity, on the campus of NSCC at Middleton. The opening of the incubation centre contributes one more element in an emerging technology cluster in our region. In economic development, a cluster is a group of companies, including More…

Francis Chan on the sobering reality of SMEs' credit squeeze THE reality of the credit squeeze for small and medium enterprises (SME) is rather clear: Let's start with the numbers. Domestic lending fell again last month, this time by $1 billion or 0.4 per cent to $272.1 billion compared to November 2008 - the second consecutive month it has fallen. Latest data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) showed that business lending dipped from $159.6 billion in November to $157.8 billion last month. This was attributed to the fact that banks have tightened credit standards while businesses and individuals have cut back on borrowing. More…

Event Profile: Tex-Styles India 2009 is Asia's premier B2B Textile Exhibition showcasing huge collection of Indian textiles from all sectors of the industry. It is an ideal forum for presenting the multi-faceted splendour of the Indian textile industry and established itself as the leading fair of its kind in South More…

Event Profile: Innovative Technologies for Manufacturing Expo (ITM Expo) 2009 is an International trade fair for Innovative Technologies for Manufacturing India. It provides an ideal platform for the innovative global companies & SMEs from various sectors for global partnering. It gives an opportunity More…

Event Profile: AEC World Expo & Conferences is the event through which all global pioneers and influencers from the industry come under one roof. It is the biggest Business to business (B2B) tradeshow for the Infrastructure and Design industry in India. Its scope is to maximize the opportunity of focused More…

Event Profile: Indian House ware & Gifts Fair - Spring 09 (IHGF) - Asia's largest exposition of gifts and house wares - is professionally organised and efficiently run show which gives direct access to the leading gift exporters from India and their mega collection of wares. This three day show provides comprehensive More…

Event Profile: IT INDIA FAIR will provide an opportunity for marketing of products, import, export, trade, investment and joint ventures in the IT field. Software development and IT Enabled Services (ITES)/BPO are areas where India with a large pool of English speaking population has substantial advantages. More…

Venue: Bombay Exhibition Centre - NSE Exhibition Complex NSE Estate, Goregaon (East), Mumbai

Event Profile: The India Auto Show 2009 is the most popular and biggest car selling trade fair in Mumbai. Some of the pioneers from the Indian Auto Industry dealing in two-wheelers, cars, vans, bikes, car accessories will showcase their latest products and technologies at The India Auto Show 2009. More…

Clusterkraft e-Newsletter

(Vol.43)