UP likely to formulate new MSME policy

State home to 3.1 mn micro, small units.

Uttar Pradesh government is likely to formulate a separate policy for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in the state.

MSME sector is the backbone of Uttar Pradesh’s industrial base accounting for 60 per cent of its industrial output.

Industry had already been demanding an exclusive policy for MSMEs in view of the fact that their needs were different from large enterprises. Besides, it was felt that a separate policy would boost the industrialisation process and attract further investment in the state.

MSME chamber Indian Industries Association (IIA) has been entrusted with the task of preparing the policy draft, which is likely to be completed by next month.

According to the last MSME survey in 2006, the state had over 3.1 million MSMEs, including 760,000 and 2.34 million units in the manufacturing and services sector, respectively.

“The task of preparing the MSME policy draft is on,” IIA executive director D S Verma told Business Standard.

Earlier, IIA had sent representation to the Uttar Pradesh small scale industries (SSI) department urging for the policy on the lines of the Central government. It also demanded the state SSI department to be renamed as MSME department.

In the UP Budget for 2011-12, the state government had set up a target of establishing 33,000 micro and small enterprises; and to augment power generation capacity for providing 24 hour electricity to the state consumers

“We welcome the announcement made in the UP Budget regarding the sector. However, we feel other steps are also required, the most important being formulating a separate MSME policy for UP,” IIA president Anil Gupta had said.

Major MSME pockets in the state include Varanasi, Allahabad, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Ferozabad, Meerut, Bhadohi, Ghaziabad, Noida, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Khurja, Aligarh and Mathura. These are product specific hubs, for example Varanasi is famous for banarasi sari, Agra and Kanpur for leather, Bhadohi for carpets, Moradabad for brassware, Lucknow for chikan, Aligarh for locks.