No frequent visits to SSI units in Gujarat

The Gujarat government will provide infrastructural and all other kinds of support to entrepreneurs and start-ups in the state, minister for industries Anil Patel has said.

The government has already issued instructions to the concerned departments not to make frequent inspection visits to the units, Patel said while inaugurating a seminar of small- and medium-scale industries on the challenges and opportunities before them, at the Gandhi Labour Institute in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

The officials' visits to the industrial units should be to solve problems there and guide them on development plans, Patel said,

The seminar was organised by the Centre for Bhartiya Marketing Development (CBMD) to discuss the problems faced by the industries and the challenges faced by them in the wake of globalisation.

Addressing the seminar, chief guest Tapan Sikdar, Union minister of state for industries, said, "The small-scale industries sector is the backbone of our economy. The government's industrial policy is supporting the entrepreneurs, extending support to the existing units and looking forward to the revival of the sick units."

Gujarat is the hub of SSIs in the country and the sector is considered the most important after agriculture, the minister said.

The SSI sector contributes in a major way to the country's exports and has a major share of the industrial production.

The first session of the seminar dealt about the subject 'Global business challenges-potential opportunities'.

D Rajgopalan, principal secretary for industries and mines, spoke about the potential opportunities that the industries have before them.

S B Dangayach, whole-time director, Sintex, spoke about 'From crises to success-A reflection'.

Hiren K Patel, director, Nirma, and Rajendra K Shah, chairman, Harsha Engineering, Ahmedabad, also spoke.

The subject for the second session was 'sickness and revival of sick units through institutional supportive framework.

Rajgopalan spoke about 'Status of sickness and the issues of sickness in Gujarat'.

The other speakers for the session included K V S M Krishna, senior faculty, the Entrepreneurship Development Institute, who spoke about the subject 'Institutional environment for globally competitive SSI', and U S Sohoni, DGM, State Bank of India, who spoke about effectiveness of rehabilitating SMEs.

M P Sinha, managing director, Steelco Gujarat, presented a case study on 'revival of sick industry-the success story of Steelco Gujarat Ltd.'

The third session focused on the modern trends in technology.

Piyush Palkhiwala, managing director, Maps (India), spoke on 'Impact of biotechnology on chemical, engineering, textile and mining sectors' and Prashant Shah, manager, exports and commercial, Katlax Enterprises, spoke about the use of information technology in enhancing business.

Sunil Parekh, chairman of the organising committee of CBMD, said even in the developed countries such as the US, the UK and Japan, 60 to 90 per cent of the SMEs have less than 100 employees.

C A Varghese, director, CBMD, along with L R Katrat, convener, CBMD, and others discussed in detail the issues impeding the growth of small enterprises and also answered queries of delegates.

The valedictory address was given by Shreyas Pandya, president, Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry.