Business standard
| TN adopts cluster strategy for small enterprises |
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Chennai, 17 March In a move to boost the micro, small and medium enterprise ( MSME) sector in Tamil Nadu, the state government is planning to take up projects that will not only help the sector address financial constraints, but also issues relating to infrastructure and marketing. It has announced a package of incentives for the development of MSMEs to enable them to grow faster. The state government has adopted a ' Cluster Development Approach' as a key strategy and allocated ₹ 50 crore in 2014- 15 as financial assistance to entrepreneurs' consortiums for establishing new industrial estates and also for shifting their industrial units to geographically defined areas for better management of power supply, infrastructure and pollution- related issues. Further, the New Entrepreneurcum- Enterprise Development Scheme or NEEDS, launched by the state government in 2013, will be provided with an additional ₹ 100 crore in 2014- 15. As a new initiative to support clusters of micro industries, the state government proposes to launch a new scheme with a grant component of 70 per cent – up to a maximum of ₹ 2.5 crore to each cluster – to put up common production infrastructure, araw material bank and marketing infrastructure. Initially, a sum of ₹ 25 crore will be allocated for the year 2014- 15 to develop 10 such clusters of micro industries. One of the major challenges facing the industry is skilled manpower. To address this issue, the state government has decided to place greater emphasis on skill development. In 2013- 14, the state government allocated ₹ 50 crore for the Skill Development Mission and this has been doubled in 2014- 15 to ₹ 100 crore. Industrial Training Institutes ( ITIs) run by the government are a key source of human resources. The state government has started 10 new ITIs and has allocated ₹ 50.89 crore for upgrading existing government ITIs, utilising the funds available with the Construction Workers' Welfare Board at a cost of ₹ 50 crore to enable students to acquire the latest skills. The number of MSMEs in Tamil Nadu has more than trebled in the past nine years – from 25,794 enterprises in 200304, representing an investment of only ₹ 722.16 crore, to 83,348 enterprises in 201213, with investment soaring to ₹ 8,751.54 crore. According to the Fourth All India Census of MSMEs (2006- 07), Tamil Nadu accounts for 14.95 per cent of the total number of operational MSMEs in India. Also, 15.24 per cent of India's micro enterprises ( the highest among all states), 9.6 per cent of its small enterprises ( third highest among all states) and 9.21 per cent of its mediumsized enterprises ( second highest among all states) are located in Tamil Nadu. To give the sector a boost, the state government has drawn up the Tamil Nadu Vision 2023, whose focus areas will be access to finance, technology and markets; a conducive regulatory and policy environment; and infrastructure availability. The vision document has suggested a strategy for effectively addressing these issues through a combination of policy measures, skill development and infrastructure facilities. Measures such as cluster development are also to be adopted in implementing focused initiatives to make MSMEs competitive. The cluster development initiative will include both ancillary clusters, based on large mother industries, and stand- alone clusters. It has been planned to generate 1.5 million more jobs during the Twelfth Five- Year Plan period in the state. ₹ 50 crore Allocated in 2014- 15 as financial assistance to entrepreneurs' consortiums for establishing new industrial estates and shifting industrial units to geographically defined areas ₹ 100 crore Additional funding provided to the New EntrepreneurcumEnterprise Development Scheme or NEEDS, launched by the state government in 2013 70 per cent Grant component in new scheme to support clusters of micro industries, - up to a maximum of ₹ 2.5 crore to each cluster ₹ 100 crore Allocated by state government in 2014- 15 for the Skill Development Mission; this is double the 2013- 14 outlay of ₹ 50 crore 10 New Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) started by the state government. Allocated ₹ 50.89 crore for upgrading existing governmentrun ITIs Number of MSMEs in Tamil Nadu has more than trebled in the past nine years - from 25,794 enterprises in 2003- 04, to 83,348 enterprises in 2012- 13 THE CLUSTER APPROACH One of the major challenges facing the industry is skilled manpower. To address this issue, the state government has decided to place greater emphasis on skill development |
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Business Line
Microfinance body seeks RBI nod for self-regulatory status G NAGA SRIDHAR
HYDERABAD, MARCH 17: The Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) has applied to the Reserve Bank of India to be recognised as the first self-regulatory organisation (SRO) for microfinance institutions. Besides filing a formal application, the registered body of leading non-banking finance company-microfinance institutions has also completed necessary structural changes in its management. "We have just inducted three independent directors on the board as it is mandatory for an SRO to have one-third of members as independent directors," its Chief Executive Officer Alok Prasad told Business Line. Vimal Bijal, former chief general manager of RBI, Rajat Kathuri, Director and Chief Executive of Delhi-based think-tank, ICRIER, and Sanjay Sinha, head of M-Cril, were taken on the board as independent directors. "By June, we will have one more independent director and the total strength of the board will be 12, including four independent directors," Alok Prasad said. Last year, the RBI had released guidelines on self-regulation by MFIs in accordance with the recommendations of the Malegam panel set up by the apex bank earlier to look into regulatory aspects of micro-lending following the Andhra Pradesh microfinance crisis of 2010. To be recognised as an SRO, an industry body should have independent directors comprising at least a third of its board, and representation of both small and large micro-lenders on the governing council. It should also have a compliance officer who is employed and paid by the SRO, but is directly responsible to the RBI. "We have also appointed another expert, Ratna Vishwanathan, as the compliance officer, besides setting up an SRO fund with ₹3 crore. Whatever has to be done according to the norms has been done. Now we will wait for the RBI decision on our application," he said. On the state of the industry, he said, loans outside Andhra Pradesh were growing. By March 31, 2014, the gross loan portfolio was expected to cross ₹30,000 crore, registering over 50 per cent growth compared to last year. (This article was published on March 17, 2014) |
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