Bengal, UP have maximum sick small units

West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh have the maximum number of sick micro and small enterprises (MSEs), while Goa and Himachal Pradesh have the minimum, according to the official data.

In all, the country had, on March, 2010, 77,723 sick units in the micro and small sector which is responsible for creating employment for 45 per cent of the country’s population and contribute 40 per cent to India’s exports.

West Bengal had 16,853 sick units in the sector, while Uttar Pradesh had 7,217 such units.

The officials in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Ministry attribute the sickness to inadequate credit availability, obsolete technology and marketing problems.

Maharashtra is at the third number witnessing 6,348 sick MSEs, followed by Karnataka 5,331 enterprises and Kerala 5,078 units. However, there are no sick businesses in Lakshadweep and Arunachal Pradesh.

There are about 5 lakh closed MSMEs in the country.

Among the states which have registered closure of MSMEs, Tamil Nadu has seen maximum closure of 79,778 enterprises, followed by Uttar Pradesh 75,659 units and Karnataka 42,315 MSMEs, according to the data.