Experts stress on land bank, tribunal for MSMEs

The industry experts in Orissa have strongly advocated for creation of land bank and establishment of a separate tribunal for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for smooth and balanced industrial growth in the state.

This was stated by experts at the launch of Seventh Entrepreneurs Week in Bhubaneswar. The celebration is being held from March 5-11 jointly by the Orissa government, National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) and Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa Ltd (Ipicol). The inaugural day coincided with the birth anniversary of the former Orissa Chief Minister Biju Patnaik.

"There needs to be a separate ministry as well as a separate tribunal for dealing with the cases of MSMEs in the state. Moreover, the MSME Development Policy, 2009 of the state which was prepared in haste, has many loopholes and need to be corrected. We also need a separate land bank for the MSMEs so that the land allotment to such units is not inordinately delayed”, said Sarat Sahoo, member of State Planning Board.

Speaking on the occasion, B K Patnaik, the state Chief Secretary said, “There is certainly scope for improvement of the MSME Development Policy and we will see what needs to be done in this regard. The small and medium industries need the assistance of the government. Entrepreneurship grows when there is an appropriate atmosphere for growth and the time has finally come when conditions have been created for entrepreneurship to grow. Orissa has attracted investments worth Rs six lakh crore and the state has been growing consistently higher than the national average for the past eight years.”

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, “The contribution of MSMEs to the economic growth of countries is recognized worldwide. In India, these enterprises account for almost 45 per cent of the manufacturing output, 95 per cent of the number of industrial units and 40 per cent of exports. Besides, the sector provides employment to almost 60 million people, making it the largest source of employment after the agriculture sector. The existence of large manufacturing units in our state creates opportunities for the growth of the MSME sector.”

"I believe that technology, marketing, credit and skills development should be the major areas of focus for a sustainable and a stronger growth of the MSME sector. Efforts have to be made for cost effective technologies and focused attention will have to be given on research and development to evolve modern infrastructure thereby making them technologically competent to meet competition”, he added.