Tamil Nadu Round Table 2023: Need to make MSMEs future-ready, say experts

The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of Tamil Nadu's industries, and there is a need to make them future-ready, industry experts said at Business Standard Tamil Nadu Round Table 2023 in Chennai.

In a panel discussion on "Tamil Nadu as India's Advanced Manufacturing Hub: Prospects & Challenges" moderated by Nivedita Mookerji, executive editor at Business Standard, Hans Raj Verma of Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation said, "If the MSME ecosystem is strong, it is an added incentive for big investments to come to Tamil Nadu."

"At the end of the day, these MSMEs are the vendors for all the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)," he said, adding that they have started sensitising MSMEs about the emerging trends that will impact them.

"MSMEs do not need expensive solutions. They need a home-grown appropriate solution," Verma said.

Kartikeyan P of Nokia said, "When it comes to small-scale industries, they need guidance."

"Large companies have an ecosystem within them. But when we need small-scale companies to come at par with advanced manufacturing, we need support from the government to set up an agency which can give unbiased support."

Kartikeyan also added that owing to the government's initiatives the academia-industry gap in the state is better than what it was two decades ago.

Gopal Krishnan, CS of Hyundai Motor India, announced that the company will open a battery system assembly plant in Tamil Nadu, which will cater to 70,000-100,000 units a year. He added that they are continuously upskilling their employees.

Bala M of 3i Medtech-Refex Group said that for core technology, the government needs to support the creation of infrastructure and a vendor ecosystem to help MSMEs.

"As MSMEs, we need to create what is relevant for markets like India," Bala added.

On healthcare, he said that India has two things that China does not have. One is the clinical expertise of doctors, which is at par with global standards. "And today they are willing to work with the industry to create new products.

The second thing is software. He said that there is a need to focus on innovations like Artificial Intelligence.

"We will focus on innovations which are frugal and especially cater to the needs of markets like India. If we crack that, we will be relevant in 100 countries. We can be an export hub," he said.

On advanced manufacturing in India, Gopal Krishnan CS said that the country has an excellent talent pool, good institutes and government support. "We can take all the best practices here to the global level".