The Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) will commission a Technology Development Centre in Coimbatore in a couple of years, said its Additional Development Commissioner D. Chandra Sekhar.
Mr. Sekhar told The Hindu on Friday the State government had given 13.75 acres in Sulur for the project and the Union government would invest ₹ 200 crore. “We will conduct a stake holders meet before commissioning the Centre,” he said. The TDC was for general engineering and would have the latest machinery to provide value added services to the units here. MSMEs could design, develop prototypes, take up re-engineering works, and train workers through the Centre. “It will be run on a self-sustainable model,” he added.
As many as 18 TDCs were operational across the country and these had so far trained nearly two lakh people. Another 20 TDCs had been approved and almost 15 more were under development. Some of these were dedicated to the automobile sector. In Coimbatore too, a centre of excellence could be established at the TDC to help MSMEs in the automobile sector shift to the EV sector.
“Globally, this is a transition phase from regular automobiles to EVs. While large players can manage, the smaller units need to shift to the EV sector,” he said.
The World Resources Institute India conducted a conference here on Friday on “Pioneering a Clean & Just ICEV - EV Transition for MSMEs in Coimbatore”. Mr. Chandra Sekhar, who took part in the conference, added that the number of components required for Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles was nearly 2,000 as against 200 for Electric Vehicles (EVs). The financial schemes of the government, such as PLI, Standup India, and Collateral Free loans, would help the MSMEs transit to the EV sector faster. The government was also expected to relaunch the Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme for MSMEs, he added.
G.R. Mohan, founder and secretary of Society for Smart E-Mobility, said the WRI would take up a pilot project in Coimbatore to map the capabilities of MSMEs and the requirements of the EV sector and match these.
