‘Punjab government committed to transform MSMEs into industrial giants’

CHANDIGARH

Describing MSMEs as an important engine of Punjab’s industrial growth, additional chief secretary, investment promotion and industries, Punjab, Vini Mahajan on Thursday said the state government was committed to transforming the micro, small and medium enterprises into industrial giants in the coming years.

Addressing the session on “Building partnerships for inclusive growth: MSMEs in the Global Value Chain”, she referred to the ease of doing business promoted by the new industrial policy, subsidised power tariff for industry at rate of ₹5 per unit, incentives on electricity duty and GST, online land ownership, online inspection system and easy access to finance.

The state government has partnered with HDFC Bank to provide loans to around 700 MSMEs, amounting to ₹1,100cr. As per an MoU, the bank is offering special pricing for business loans to all industries in the state, she added.

Mahajan further pointed to the infrastructure upgrade undertaken at the focal points at an investment of around ₹200 crore by the state government. She cited recent cabinet decisions, including approval for Right to Business Act for MSMEs, amendments to the Industrial Disputes Act, Factories Act, etc and the decision to allow panchayats to partner the state’s industrial development through creation of industrial parks on shamlat land.

MOUs SIGNED WITH AMAZON, FLIPKART

On the occasion, Punjab industries minister Sunder Sham Arora signed MoUs with key e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart to enable access to new markets for the Punjab-based MSMEs.

Arora said that the government had signed a pact with Amazon to enable B2B linkages with key international markets, including the US, Canada, and key markets in Europe, while, with Flipkart, the government had signed the MoU to facilitate access for MSMEs to new domestic markets, as well as Flipkart Samarth, to give impetus to the growth of handloom weavers and small enterprises in the state.

The MSME session was moderated by Akhil Bansal, deputy CEO of KPMG, and participated by Jayant Davar from Sandhar Technologies, managing director Hero Cycles Pankaj Munjal, Sachid Madan from ITC, Bhawna Bhatia from World Bank, Sarvjit Singh Samra from Capital Small Finance Bank and Ren Van Berkel from UNIDO.

Guruprasad Mohapatra, secretary in the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT), said that MSME sector is the backbone of Punjab industry and accounts for nearly 60% of the total output and around 80% of the total employment in industry in the state.