A sum of Rs.30 crore would be disbursed this fiscal as subsidies to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in Tamil Nadu. A sum of Rs.20 crore was disbursed in the last financial year. The MSME policy of the government,
the first of its kind in the country, has won praise from all quarters and is “a pioneering effort,” said Dheeraj Kumar, Industries Commissioner and Director of Industries and Commerce.
He told The Hindu that the MSMEs formed the very foundation of industrial development. Mr. Dheeraj was in the city on Friday to deliver a lecture on ‘Government initiatives on industrialisation of southern districts’ organised by the Madurai District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association.
“Small industries employ more than larger ones and are next only to agriculture in terms of the volume of employment generated in the country. There is still a lot more they can contribute for the nation’s economic development, which is what the MSME policy looks for to achieve,” he said.
The new policy has a target of generating direct and indirect employment for 10 lakh people in the 11th Five-Year Plan period besides a sustained annual growth rate of over 10 per cent for the sector.
Creation of common facilities such as testing and manufacturing centres for clusters created for cottage and small industries was also being accorded priority. “We want to take up mechanisation of the MSMEs. As it is not possible for individual units to take up this process, the government is focusing on the cluster model,” said Mr. Dheeraj.
Under this policy, 10 industries were initially identified as thrust sectors and given special packages. Recently, the government had announced in the Assembly that three more industries would be added.
