UP to launch MSME business portal

To boost the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Uttar Pradesh, the state government will launch a business portal for MSMEs, upload a district-wise MSME database and revitalise the state’s financial institutions.

The B2B (business-to-business) portal will facilitate registration of MSMEs operating in various industry segments.

“We plan to launch a B2B portal for voluntary registration by small scale industries,” UP Small Scale Industries (SSI) and Export Promotion Principal Secretary Mukul Singhal told Business Standard.

UP is home to an estimated 3.1 million MSMEs, about three-quarters of which are in the services sector. An overwhelming majority of them are in the micro sector and are unregistered.

Meanwhile, the government is collating a composite district-wise MSME database jointly with industry bodies. The database is expected to be uploaded on the department’s website by the end of September.

The department expects MSMEs to benefit in several ways if data about them is put in the public domain — industry would have first-hand, accurate information about complementary and supplementary industries in UP; and the data would help industries expand their market base.

Major MSME pockets in UP include Varanasi, Allahabad, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Ferozabad, Meerut, Bhadohi, Ghaziabad, Noida, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Khurja, Aligarh and Mathura. Varanasi is famous for Banarasi sarees, Agra and Kanpur for leather, Bhadohi for carpets, Moradabad for brassware, Lucknow for chikan and Aligarh for locks.

Besides, the government is considering reviving the comatose UP Financial Corporation (UPFC) and the Pradeshiya Industrial & Investment Corporation of UP (Picup). UPFC owes about Rs 800 crore to the Small Industries and Development Bank of India (Sidbi) and is in dire need of restructuring.

“We want to incorporate lessons learnt from the past to improve Picup,” Singhal said, adding that the corporation could soon start MSME and infrastructure financing after due diligence.

In 2012-13, UP is targeting the setting up of 50,000 micro/small units and creating 400,000 jobs. The government is formulating a new industrial policy. Discussions with stakeholders are complete, industry’s concerns are being addressed and provisions for the growth of MSMEs are being incorporated.