To strengthen the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) base in Uttar Pradesh, the state government will soon start work on the 14 clusters, recently approved by the Centre.
“The work on these clusters will start this month and we will float tenders for supply of machinery and other industrial inputs, wherever needed,” UP industry department commissioner and director Md Iftikharuddin told Business Standard.
Of the 14 clusters, five and nine clusters would require hard and soft interventions respectively.
Hard intervention requires major work in the clusters, which could include up grading the machinery and technology, providing marketing support and setting up of common facility centres. Soft intervention commonly includes field visits to other similar clusters and training sessions by segment specialists.
The five clusters requiring hard intervention are Varanasi (glass bead), Bhadohi (carpet), Khurja (pottery), Meerut (scissors) and Chauri Chaura, Gorakhpur (leather). Varanasi and Bhadohi are the biggest clusters and they have been sanctioned Rs 8.5 crore and Rs 5.5 crore respectively. Collectively, these five clusters have been sanctioned Rs 20 crore.
Both the Centre and the state government share the funds to be incurred in the clusters, while some portion, say 5-10 per cent, could be contributed by the beneficiaries themselves.
The nine clusters requiring soft intervention include among others Ghazipur (wall hanging), Varanasi (table fan) and Ghaziabad. Such clusters typically require an infusion of Rs 10 lakh to improve their production line and marketability.
Together, these 14 clusters are likely to benefit over 5,000 people directly and several thousand others indirectly employed in related industries.
