Uttar Pradesh to bring in new policy for MSMEs

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) may soon have an industrial policy dedicated to their name in Uttar Pradesh.

RC Srivastava, principal secretary, Uttar Pradesh small scale industries, has urged the Indian Industries Association (IIA) to prepare a draft for the MSME policy, which, he assured, will be considered seriously.

The IIA, apex body of the MSMEs in Uttar Pradesh, put forward the concerns of the industries in a meeting with the UP chief secretary and the principal secretary of the SSI and export promotion.

Expressing his views, Praveen Sadana, president, IIA, said, "There are approximately 15 lakh MSMEs active in the state providing employment to around 1.5 crore people. Next to agriculture, this sector employs the maximum number of people. Hence, the government must pay special attention towards its development."

The association also put forward several problems of MSMEs before the chief secretary, including concerns over value-added tax (VAT). They said that though the IIA welcomed the new tax, it wanted some modifications in its implementation process and added that many industries will suffer and even close down if the required action wasn't taken promptly.

The association said it was concerned about the role played by the Udyog Bandhus at the state level. It further explained that reliable data on UP industries were not available anywhere creating problems in preparing the sector-specific plans.

"There is a need for a comprehensive industrial survey of UP which has already been initiated by the IIA. Support from the UP government in this effort would benefit greatly," Sadana added.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Secretary PK Mishra said the first priority of the government was improvement of infrastructure and quick implementation of the Taj and Ganga expressways.

Reacting on the issues mentioned by the IIA, he said the industrial backwardness of the state was mainly due to a lack of stability in the political leadership since 1989.

"Now that the voters have brought in a stable government, positive results have started showing up," he said as the government is seriously concentrating on the uplift of the industrial sector," he said.