The Union Government is looking at measures to control raw material prices, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for MSMEs, said in Coimbatore on Wednesday.
The Minister interacted with the industry after inaugurating a Foundry Conclave organised online jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Institute of Indian Foundrymen.
Regarding volatility in prices and shortage of raw materials faced by the engineering industry, he said, “We are very seriously working on a proposal on how we can control prices of raw materials.” The government is aware of the problems faced by the MSMEs because of the issue.
The Minister urged the industry also to suggest measures to resolve it. On shortage of containers for exports, the Minister said the situation is expected to normalise in the next 15 to 20 days.
Asked about the Vehicle Scrappage Policy, he said it is in the process of getting approval from the appropriate authority.
Inaugurating the conference, he said the government wants to make India a global manufacturing hub. The Indian exporters can become major suppliers to different countries that are looking at alternatives. The manufacturers should focus on quality and also reduce the production cost. “We need good technology for it,” he said. The country has good technologies. However, if needed, he urged the industry to explore joint ventures to get better technology.
Hari Thiagarajan, chairman of CII Tamil Nadu, said nearly 5,000 foundries operate in the country and 90 % of these are MSMEs. The major foundry clusters include Coimbatore, Rajkot, Belgaum, and Kolhapur.
