MSME Trade Fair paves way for Investment Opportunity

Considering the importance of MSME to the overall economic development , Govt of Odisha has created a separate department namely the MSME Department .Credit, Technology and Marketing are the vital elements of growth of the MSME’s. Keeping this in mind . the newly formed MSME Department has ventured to organize the Odisha MSME Trade Fair annually since 2013. The third edition of this Fair was held in Bhubaneswar from 8th to 14th of January.

The MSME Trade Fair ‘2015 succeeded in attracting business negotiations amounting to Rs 80 crore and over 25,000 trade related enquiries, revealed MSME Secretary, Panchanan Dash at the conclusion of the Fair. “The target for next year is to try and rope in foreign buyers and prop-up exports with the hope that in the coming years this Fair will turn out to be an ‘Investment Odisha’ platform.”, he added.

The success and significance of the MSME sector in Odisha is apparent with its growing contribution to the GDP, employment generation and forex earnings through exports. The state has emerged as a favourable destination for investment which is evident from the presence of large number of mega Industries providing great opportunity for development of MSME as ancillary and downstream Industries. At least 28 per cent of the investment coming to the country comes to Odisha. MSME is a key sector in the value chain and it provides jobs as well as investment. Odisha Venture Capital has been formed to assist the MSME sector.

The Odisha State Government is contemplating to bring out a procurement policy for Micro & Small Enterprises (MSEs) in the State. An initiative in the name and style of MSME Bazaar has been taken up by the MSME Department to give exposure to the MSME’s of the state, where the local entrepreneurs can upload their product brochure and purchase procedure on a developed website. As per latest census, there are about 1.5 million enterprises providing employment to 3.3 million people in Odisha. The state is one of the top ten states in terms of providing employment. The growth rate of MSME’s in Odisha is 32 percent against the all India average of 28 percent. The growth rate of employment has been 29 percent against the all India average of 26 percent.

The MSME Trade Fair is a one stop shop for all entrepreneurial activities with provision of buyer-seller meets, vendor development programs as well as seminars and workshops relating to promotion and development of MSME’s. The first MSME award ,as token of appreciation to the successful entrepreneurs in this sector, was given out by the CM at the inaugural function. The MSME e –seva was also launched by the CM on the occasion. The MSME Fair ‘2015 saw the participation of big groups like TATA Steel, SAIL, JK Paper, Jindal Steel and Power,NALCO, MCL ,ACC, NTPC alongwith East Coast Railway, Coir Board of India, Odisha Tourism and an array of public and private Banks .

However, both the CM and the MSME Minister, Jogendra Behera, were dissatisfied with the role of the Banks as in assisting the Small Enterprises. “The Banks ask for huge collateral security which a small entrepreneur will not be able to provide. If we are verifying the names and putting our stamp behind any candidature, then what problem the Banks can have? Where will these young people go then? They may easily get disillusioned and distracted.” lambasted the Minister, speaking at the Fair.

The CM also emphasised that credit is a major focus area for a sustainable growth of the MSME’s. “The micro enterprises of yesterday are the large corporates of today and could be MNC’s of tomorrow. Thus the banks and other agencies should take pride while servicing the MSME’s. However, the coverage of credit to the entrepreneurs of the State is dismally poor. As on September 2014, only 6.7 percent of the credit has been covered under the credit guarantee scheme of Government of India. I call upon the banks to proactively consider covering more and more of the first generation entrepreneurs under the said scheme . The RBI has constituted a working group to study the problems of Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE), particularly with respect to rehabilitation of potentially viable sick units and has given elaborate guidelines . I urge all banks to follow the guidelines with all seriousness to create a win-win situation for them and the entrepreneurs”, he said at the Fair.

The MSME Fair ‘2015 threw its weight behind development of MSME Enterprises in Tourism sector of Odisha. The Odisha Tourism pavilion was a standout and attracted massive attention. Askok Panda , the Minister of Tourism ,himself attended the Fair. The Fair also saw discussion and seminar on this topic. MSME Secretary, Panchanan Dash, said that Tourism in Odisha has a fair share of potentiality in employment generation and that MSME entrepreneurs should come forward to boost the Tourism sector. He also stressed upon providing incentives to Tourism MSME’s for promotion of the sector in MSME Development Policy that is being worked out.

Talking to this Correspondent, Director of Tourism, Ashok Kumar Tarenia, felt that the Tourism sector has immense potential for generation of employment, revenue increase & foreign exchange. “Involvement of MSME entrepreneurs is necessary in making the tourist spots more attractive and young entrepreneurs should come forward for exploring Eco-Tourism option.”, he added.

The Odisha government has announced launching of the Shelter Security Mission to provide pucca houses to all in the next five years. The model of the Biju pucca house, set up at the Fair for public display, was a major attraction.