Development agency to suggest solutions in MSME clusters

Cluster Pulse, an economic development agency based in Ahmedabad, has been awarded a project by Small Industries Development Bank of India to suggest solutions for competitiveness in five sectoral clusters in the country.
They are: Jammu & Kashmir Tourism Cluster (Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh), Alleppey (Kerala) Coir floor covering cluster, Dehradun pharmaceutical cluster, Panipat carpet cluster and the Indore pharmaceutical cluster, a release by the agency said.
Micro, small & medium enterprises (MSME's) contribute 40 per cent to Indian economy and provides large employment in the country but suffer from many challenges, it said.
"The objective of this project is to carry out detailed analysis in the five clusters with a view to identify non- financial gaps and suggest appropriate measures to achieve the desired competitiveness," it said.

The major focus will be on non-financial issues, infrastructure and marketing aspects, it added.
The project includes Analysis Of Business Operations (AOBO) of cluster, SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis, vision for the cluster (both short term and long term), current Pain Points and actionable points on these, the founder of Cluster Pulse, Jagat Shah said.

The project will also include infrastructure related issues which are affecting the growth of the cluster.
They include spatial issues - basic cluster infrastructure (roads, industrial space, power, gas), common facility centre, marketing infrastructure, water and effluent treatment infrastructure.
It will also look at cloud / IT services infrastructure, Government linkages including Public Private Partnership (PPP), environmental degradation related issues, renewable energy sources, technical requirements, & international market linkages, the release added.