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COVID has taught that digitization in business is not a luxury, it is a necessity: BB Swain, MSME Secretary

Dec 18, 2021

NEW DELHI, 18 December 2021: Mr BB Swain, Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Govt of India today said that the COVID has taught that digital literacy and digitization in business is not any more a luxury, it is a necessity now. The Ministry is in the process to announce a scheme on Digital Literacy for Micro Units to expand the horizon of Digitization in MSME Sector.

Addressing the FICCI's Annual Convention & 94th AGM on the theme India Beyond 75, in conversation with Mr R. Narayan, President, Confederation of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (FICCI-CMSME) and Founder & CEO, Power2SME Private Limited, Mr Swain said that the Ministry is working with State Governments to increase the number of Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Councils and the number is increasing gradually to address the incremental cases.

Commenting on the repayment period of ECLGS, Mr Swain said that he is ready to pursue the suggestion of increasing the repayment period with the concerned Ministry. Today, he said the Udyam portal has more than 61 Lakh MSMEs registered, and the real-time data is available on the portal. He added that all the data of Udyam Portal is highly verified.

Responding to Mr Narayan's comment on schemes for medium enterprises, the Secretary said that Ministry has come out with the 'Self-Reliant Fund' which is created on the model of mother & daughter fund to support progressive medium enterprises through equity intervention with an expectation of total provision of Rs 50,000 Crore through daughter funds. Moreover, the Ministry is open to hearing specific and essential interventions required for the Medium Enterprises from the Industry, he added.

Speaking on testing facilities in the country, he said, expansion of facilities is required, and the Ministry will work towards it. He added that some subsidies are also available for Micro Units. More Global Tie-ups could also be explored by the Ministry in future.

The Secretary remarked that the Ministry is closely working with the Department of Commerce on National Resource Database System to develop the Global Market Intelligence System (GMIS), to provide data on market intelligence for MSMEs. The Ministry could certainly use some help from the Industry Association like FICCI-CMSME in the usage of such data in a conclusive form, he suggested. Secretary also commented that the "First Time Exporter" Scheme is also going to be launched which is an initiative of minor interventions like subsidies for micro-units aspiring to export.  

The Secretary opined that it is important to identify Indian Products having potential in the global market, pinpointing the world-class element in it, further researching to find ways to improve the same and start interventions.

Mr Narayan acknowledged the Ministry's wholehearted support and appreciated that the Ministry of MSME has always lent ear to the industry issues and has taken steps accordingly. He also presented the Green Certificate and the special edition of the publication brought out by FICCI jointly with KAS on the theme � India Beyond 75: Strategy for New India.

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