The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), an apex body of industry representatives, has proposed setting up of 16 new clusters on public-private partnership in Orissa, each accommodating about 1,000 units and providing direct and indirect employment to 4 lakh people.
Releasing the ASSOCHAM study on “Cluster Development for Inclusive Growth in Odisha”, Secretary General of the body, D. S. Rawat said, “The total funds required to provide basic and essential infrastructure to these clusters will be about Rs 480 crore. Once functional, it will contribute additional 10 percent revenue per annum to the exchequer, help in inclusive growth and lead to upgradation of existing clusters”.
In this context, the chamber stressed on the need for setting up a statutory body as “Cluster Development Authority” for optimum utilization of funds and assisting the clusters to gear up for further growth.
The 16 new clusters suggested by ASSOCHAM are: Palasa (Cashew), Buditi (Brass & Bell Metal), Baripada (Sabai Grass), Dhenkanal (Powerloom), Puri (Rice Mills), Bhadrak (Rice Mill Cluster), Dhamara (Ice Plant), Basudevpur (Ice Plant), Chandbali (Chuda Cluster), Tihdi (Chuda Cluster), Basudevpur (Chuda Cluster), Bhandaripokhari (Honey), Dhamara (Honey), Betaligaon (Wood Carving), Olaga (Wood Carving) and Dhusuri (Wood Carving).
The chamber plans to hold a day long summit on investment opportunities in Orissa on June 24th which is expected to be attended by over 400 potential investors. The focus areas for MoUs in the summit will be forestry, agriculture, food processing, HRD skills, commercial sea ports, herbal, non-conventional energy, tourism and infrastructure.
Rawat said, there are merely 26 clusters in the state recognized by the Central government as against the total numbers of 6,500 clusters out of which 450 are assisted by the government.
Stating that clusters play major role in creation of jobs, cost competitiveness, better quality, enhanced productivity, improved infrastructure, and wider export market, he said, the MSME sector contributes around 40 percent to GDP with an estimated value of goods and services around Rs 20 lakh crores (year 2009-10).
The sector is estimated to employ about 59 million people in over 26 million units throughout the country. Further, this sector has consistently registered a higher growth rate than the rest of the industrial sector. There are over 6,000 products ranging from traditional to high-tech items, which are being manufactured by the MSMEs in India.
Rawat said, “existing clusters are not able to sustain growth & development process due to use of obsolete technology and plant machinery, therefore, there is a need to interconnect all clusters among themselves by adopting e-Cluster model to provide them with a level playing field and make it globally competitive”.
ASSOCHAM advocated for assisting and stimulating clusters’ potential to achieve better productivity and contribution in state output. In a sample survey covering 5 clusters in five locations, it has been assessed that assisted clusters showed 20-30 percent overall improvement in income generation, social welfare, product quality, efficiency in raw material consumption and skill improvements.
Rawat called for better promotion of available schemes and widespread dissemination of information at various levels about several schemes running across the country. The number of such schemes be reduced to 4-5 comprehensive schemes to be accessible and implementable, he added.
