MSME ministry to set up 20 technology centres: Giriraj Singh

The government will set up 20 additional technology centres to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Union Minister Giriraj Singh said Wednesday.

These centres support MSMEs by giving them access to advanced manufacturing technologies, skilling manpower and providing technical and business advisory support.

"We have got sanction to set up 20 more technology centres in different parts of the country," he said here at CII's Global SME Business Summit 2018.

Currently, 10 such centres are operational in different states of the country.

The MSME minister said that there were some challenges for the sector, but the government was working on all those areas, including providing timely credit.

He added that schemes like Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) and credit guarantee fund trust for micro and small enterprises had helped in creating 19 lakh new entrepreneurs.

"I think these entrepreneurs have created jobs for about three crore people," he added.

Speaking at the event, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said SMEs should tap the opportunity to become part of the global value chain.

"For our SMEs to collaborate with global partners and become part of global value chain, our government has been working on policies and action plans that will support SMEs in different ways. We have also been working on facilitating export and protection of intellectual property rights," he added.

Prabhu also said the ministry is examining a proposal to set up trade promotion bodies in 15 countries to boost exports of SMEs from India.

MSMEs contribute around 45 per cent to the country's exports, 24.63 per cent to the GDP from service activities and 33.4 per cent to the manufacturing output.