Faces competition from multinationals and low demand in the domestic market.

TN matchbox industry to focus on exports

Business Standard

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face the challenge of extracting the latent value of their intellectual property (IP) and using it effectively in their business strategies. Taking cognisance of the problem, the Punjab State Council for Science &amp; Technology (PSCST) has identified 18 micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) clusters across the state for creating IP rights-related awareness.

Punjab to create IPR awareness in 18 clusters

The growth centre for SMEs at Siggadi in the Kotdwar area of Pauri district in Uttarakhand has got a facelift, with the government strengthening infrastructure facilities in the centre.

Kotdwar growth centre gets a facelift

The Tamil Nadu government has proposed a target of Rs 100 crore as subsidies to be disbursed among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and also decided to make services companies eligible for them. According to a state government representative, MSMEs&rsquo; lack of awareness is a big challenge for the state government.

TN small units get a big boost

When the VAT law provides for refund and the documents specified in the relevant rules are submitted, refund should not be denied. The officers sanctioning the refund must be satisfied on the basis of documents submitted alone and should grant the refund.

'If papers in order, SEZ can't be denied VAT refund'

Winds of change are blowing through India&rsquo;s micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector. First, capital market regulator Sebi has notified guidelines for trading on the SME platform, which will enable easier listing by SMEs; second, the Federation of Indian Micro and Small &amp; Medium Enterprises (Fisme) has begun work on a bankruptcy law that will supersede the current archaic and dysfunctional insolvency mechanism for MSMEs; and third, Fisme is also working on a competition framework for MSMEs, which is intended to help these enterprises leverage the new Competition Commission of India dispensation to their advantage.

Winds of change are blowing

Punjab&rsquo;s textile industry, the largest employer in the state after agriculture, is still financially troubled, while other industry clusters are celebrating the start of a revival after the downturn.

Spinning trouble

In order to make India a global hub of excellence in cross-disciplinary higher education as well as in industrial research and development through industry-academia collaborations, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and all the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) recently formed the CII-IIT Council. The council comprises directors of the 13 IITs and key industry captains of CII&rsquo;s National Council, and aims to make India a global hub of technical education.

Innovation mission

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has urged micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to tap the capital markets to raise funds, since they can be an alternative to traditional banking finance. The banking regulator has also said that, as on date, the entry norms are high for MSMEs to enter the capital market, but the SME trading platform, norms for which have been notified by the capital market regulator, would address the issue.

MSMEs need to tap the capital markets

Large IT companies are betting big on small and medium business (SMB). This trend developed during the downturn, when tech firms found that SMBs&rsquo; IT spending was robust despite the slowdown. IBM, Dell, Microsoft and TCS are some of the big companies that are quite enthused about the segment for future growth.

IT majors bet big on SMB segment

Hyderabad, until now India&rsquo;s bulk drugs capital, is finding it difficult to retain the crown, with production capacities having remained almost static for some time.

Bulk drug industry hits a plateau

Until last year, Karnataka was home to nearly 600,000 small-scale units (of which 350,000 are registered), nearly 75 per cent of them located in and around Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Belgaum, Hubli and Shimoga.

OEM orders for Karnataka SMEs dry up

Gujarat and Chennai are emerging as favoured destinations for auto parts units due to issues like octroi and electricity problems in Maharashtra. In the wake of the boom in car sales, almost 85 per cent of large- and medium-sized auto- component manufacturers are back to their original production schedules, though the situation remains grim for micro and small enterprises, especially in Maharashtra.

Auto parts units shift base

When envisioned in 1999, the foundry park off Ranihati in Howrah was supposed to bring to the state investments worth Rs 2,000 crore and create employment for 30,000. A decade later, the park&rsquo;s launch is still tentative.

Foundry park on hold

Entrepreneurs in Coimbatore, a traditional town of closely-held family managed companies, popularly known as the Manchester of south India, are now more open to the idea of entering into equity collaboration with domestic and international partners.

Open sesame

Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are feeling the heat of competition in the domestic market from rising Chinese imports.

SMEs face the heat from cheap Chinese imports

We export under Duty Entitlement Passbook (DEPB) scheme. Our Customs House Agent (CHA) says there is a limit of 12.5 per cent for remitting agency commission.

'No limit on foreign agent commission remittance'

Once considered goldmines, industrial plots in Uttarakhand are losing their sheen as a result of industrial stagnation.

Industrial plots in Uttarakhand lose their sheen due to fall in demand

A large number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are mired in the slowdown, but a majority of them, especially the micro ones, have said they are not aware of the steps being taken by the government to help SMEs recover from the crisis.

SMEs ignorant about stimulus packages

Almost five months after its inception, Invest India has started getting a good response from foreign investors. Invest India is a 49:51 joint venture between the department of industrial policy &amp; promotion (DIPP) in the ministry of commerce and industry, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) and various state governments.

Mid-size foreign investors throng Invest India

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) engaged in poultry farming in Haryana will soon use poultry litter to generate power for the state power grid.

And now, power generation from poultry litter!

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