BEML to expand vendor base

Public sector undertaking Bharath Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) is looking at more industrial units in Mysore who could meet the supply of its certain requirements. It is presently sourcing from units in Bangalore or Coimbatore.

Presently, BEML’s supply comes from about 20-25 industries. However, there are more opportunities for setting up units here to meet BEML’s requirements like huge fabrication, electrical and electrical equipements, said BEML Equipments Division chief general manager R H Muralidhara today in Mysore. Inaugurating a two-day national vendor development programme-cum-exhibition, ‘Kaigarike Expo’, organised by the MSME-Develop-ment Institute, Bangalore, in association with Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (Kassia), Bangalore, District Industries Centre, Mysore Industries Association, Mysore District Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Association Mysore, he said more and more electronic equipment are finding place in cabins like anti-collusion devices, increasing need for such items.

As it was a growing sector, micro and small industries had ample opportunities to take to manufacture and supply of such items, Muralidhara said, adding 2014-15 would be a good year for the industry.

State Bank of Mysore (SBM) General Manager Bangara Raju said, big units like BEML and BHEL had sourced 50-60 per cent requirements from vendors. So they are a big strength to them. More support extended by them to these big units would increase production and add up to GDP growth. Bearing in mind the interest and support to the MSMEs, the SBM had converted 15 branches into MSME branches.

The SBM had reduced the interest rate for MSMEs by 2-2.5 per cent from 14-15 per cent from January last. It was also extending stand-by-time credit facility to meet their exigencies, he said.

More investments will flow into Mysore, said Kassia General Secretary Padmanabha adding that Kassia had urged the state government to allow for the flow of more investments to Mysore region. He regretted that banks and the Centre were not coming to the rescue of sick units which numbered around 200,000, out of 650,000 units in the state.

MSMEs had plenty of opportunity to become suppliers as the Centre had recently given a direction to procure 20 per cent of its total requirement value from micro and small units, said National Mineral Development Corporation Deputy General Manager S N Rangaprasad, adding: “Hence, we have to expand our supply base to enlist more of them.”

MSME-DI Deputy Director K Devaraj added that the Centre’s direction to all PSUs, in the form of gazette notification, would become mandatory by 2015. They have to give certain benefits to them also. This provided more opportunities to vendors.

Mysore Industries Association General Secretary Suresh Kumar Jain lamented banks were not coming to the rescue of sick units for their rehabilitation.