We have decided to establish clusters in partnership with industry: Randeep Singh Surjewala

Interview with Haryana's Industries and Commerce Minister

Haryana, better known for its automotive cluster in and around Gurgaon, has close to two lakh small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Recognising their contribution to the state's economy, the state government has adopted a two-pronged approach to strengthen the SME sector - providing infrastructure for the development of small business, and encouraging large industries to provide opportunities to ancillaries. Haryana's Industries and Commerce Minister, Randeep Singh Surjewala, explains this strategy to Komal Amit Gera. Edited excerpts:

At what stage of development is Haryana's cluster development initiative?

Recognising that the cluster approach is most suitable in providing institutional support for the MSME sector, the state government has decided to establish various clusters in partnership with industry and financial support from the Government of India. These clusters will meet the requirements of common facilities - product development, economising production costs, quality marking, lab testing and effluent treatment.

We have identified 31 clusters across various sectors, like textiles, stainless steel, footwear, print and packaging, pharma, agricultural implements, leather, engineering, scientific instruments, etc. Common Facility Centres for five clusters have been sanctioned by GoI and 'in principle' approval of GoI has been received for two clusters. The foundation stones for these were laid at Saha, Ambala and Rohtak by the Union MSME minister and the chief minister on October 23. Detailed project reports and diagnostic reports are under preparation for the rest.

Besides, HSIIDC (Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation) has already developed sector-specific industrial parks - food parks at Rai and Saha; an apparel park at Barhi; a footwear park at Bahadurgarh; IT parks at Manesar, Rai and Panchkula; an electronic hardware technology park at Kundli; and an agricultural implements park at Karnal. We are also developing a mega leather cluster at IMT Rojka Meo (Mewat); an electronics manufacturing cluster at IMT Rohtak; and a plastics park and a textiles park at the industrial estate at Panipat under various schemes of GoI.

Small firms face difficulties in creating market linkages. How can they fill this gap?

Cluster development and common facility centres are expected to address the challenges of market access and competitiveness also. A state-of-the-art export exhibit centre is being set up at Panipat at a cost of Rs 31.60 crore for promoting handloom exports. This centre is expected to help exporting units to create market linkages and display their products better at one single place.

Rice processing has seen tremendous capacity expansion in Haryana. What is the status on other crops and vegetables?

An international-scale logistics and marketing facility for handling fruit and vegetables is being developed near Gannaur by the State Agriculture Marketing Board. It enjoys proximity to one of the largest consumer markets of Delhi and the adjoining urban agglomerations. Steps have been taken to strengthen the infrastructure to facilitate growth of the food processing sector. Food Parks at Rai (Sonepat) and Saha (Ambala) have been developed by HSIIDC, and industrial plots have been allotted to food processing industries.

Further, to facilitate capacity building and cater to the needs of skill development for this sector, HSIIDC has allotted 100 acres of land at Kundli (Sonepat) for establishing the National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) set up by the Union ministry of food processing industries. The institute is one of the premier institutions for imparting training and offering courses in the field of food technology and other management streams.

The ministry of food processing industries has launched a centrally sponsored scheme of the National Mission on Food Processing (NMFP) in the current five-year plan, and Haryana has the distinction of being one of the first states to utilise 100 per cent of the grant provided by the GoI in the first year of the scheme. In 2012-13, the state government sanctioned projects for grant-in-aid to the extent of Rs 13.90 crores, against which Rs 5.92 crores has already been released to the beneficiaries under the different components of the NMFP. Further, applications for grant-in-aid under the NMFP totalling Rs 20 crores have been received for projects such as processing of milk and milk products, pickles, breakfast cereals, fruit juices and cold chain infrastructure facilities.

What new policy initiatives are on the cards?

Since planned industrial infrastructure is one of the most important factors for attracting new investment, we are in the process of developing a land bank totalling about 11,000 acres throughout the state - for example, IMT Faridabad (1,700 acres), IMT Rojka Meo (1,500 acres), IMT Kharkhauda (3,300 acres), IMT Rohtak Phase-III (900 acres), Industrial Park at Panipat (900 acres), and the Industrial Estate at Bawal (400 acres), to name only a few.

We have planned a number of initiatives under the DMIC (Delhi-Mumbai Infrastructure Corridor) project. These include development of the Manesar Bawal Investment Region over an area of about 400 sq km - which will contribute to increased economic activity in the region; the Integrated Multi-Modal Logistics Hub at Rewari over 1,000 acres; the Global City project over 1,000 acres; and a Mass Rapid Transport System between Gurgaon, Manesar and Bawal.