MSME entrepreneurs should come under Start up umbrella

Micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Odisha need to come under the Start up umbrella to avail a string of incentives offered by the state government.
 

Acknowledging the generational shift of MSMEs, Hemant Sharma, secretary, industries & MSME, Odisha government said, “Previously, we were interacting with the first generation entrepreneurs. Now, we are interacting with second and third generation entrepreneurs. I feel this is positive development for the MSME sector in Odisha since this is not a nationwide phenomenon”.
 

He said, setting up a business under the start up framework has become easier though it wasn’t easy five years back.
 

“The second and third generation entrepreneurs in Odisha should come under the start up umbrella. We are doing a lot of awareness programmes in this regard”, he added.
 

Sharma was addressing delegates at the ‘Smart Business’ conclave on ‘Role of government policies in strengthening MSMEs’ in Cuttack, co-hosted by Business Standard and Odisha Small Scale Industries Association (OSSIA).

He agreed that all government policies have not worked to the benefit of the MSMEs. Nonetheless, the government policies have been dynamic in nature and none of the policies have been cast in stone.
 

Sharma stressed on the need for some changes in Odisha General Financial Rules (OGFR) so that MSMEs could get some purchase preference.
 

Speaking on the occasion, Pranab Jyoti Nath, director, industries, Odisha government flagged the immense scope for cluster development for MSMEs in the state and touched upon ‘Zero  Defect, Zero Effect’ scheme of the government.
 

Sharing the MSME sector’s perspective, Smarajit Mohanty, president of Odisha Small Scale Industries Association (OSSIA) lamented that policies meant for the MSME units are not properly implemented at the ground level. Moreover, there is no accountability for violation of these policies, he said. “An approximate and exact policy has not been framed yet for an entrepreneur”, he rued.
 

“We appeal to the state government to come out with a policy that offers social security to an entrepreneur. In this regard, the government should immediately take an initiative to convert the leasehold plots to freehold status which the MSME fraternity has been demanding for long. Similar policies are being followed by other states- Tamil Nadu, Delhi and more recently Uttar Pradesh that has declared freehold status for leasehold plots”, Mohanty added.