Union MSME Minister Kalraj Mishra today laid the foundation stone of a Rs 102-crore Technological Development Centre (TDC) for micro, small and medium enterprises at Baddi in Solan district, which he said would give impetus to the Make in India initiative.
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh was also present.
The tool room, which is expected to be eco-friendly, will be set up under the Technology Centre System Programme (TCSP) of the central government, Mishra said at the event.
The main objective of such a technology centre, he said, is to keep pace with changing technologies and theWorld Bank had sanctioned Rs 2,200 crore for setting up such units at 15 locations across the country, adding that 10 places have been identified so far.
He thanked the state government for providing 20 acres free of cost for the technology centre.
According to the minister, similar technology centres are coming up in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Uttarakhand and other places where more than one lakh youth will be trained, who would either set up their own industrial units or get employed by major industries.
Mishra also promised support from the ministry to set up rural-based industrial units in the state.
To back up his claim, Mishra said the ministry is working on strengthening the Rural Self-employment Training Institutes and for those seeking online registration, the government has provided a one-page form to facilitate entrepreneurs.
The Union minister also announced shifting of the Multi-purpose Development Training Centre from Kaned to Sundernagar in Mandi district.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said thetechnology centre/tool room being set up wouldprovide consultancy and advisory services in technology and engineering solutions for improvement ofquality and productivity.
Speaking on the occasion, State MSME and Textile Secretary
Rajiva Sinha lauded the efforts made by the ICC in assisting and promoting the MSME sector in India in general and West Bengal in particular.
Sinha said that Venture Capitals are a unique entity and should be provided to MSME sectors where they are absent.
"There is a tremendous need to generate awareness among the new startups about various new schemes and policies that have been introduced by the government to create a positive business environment in the country," he said.
Sinha mentioned that, in order to reduce paper work, save time and cost, the West Bengal government has stared single-window clearances for all kind of approvals.
The state has also introduced a mobile app with all carry relevant information regarding policies and schemes available for the MSME sector along with tracking facilities of proposals and requisite approvals.
Special initiatives have also been taken to deal with land related issues like Mutation and Conversion, Sinha said.
Besides introducing 'EDP', a two week-long online certificate course for Entrepreneurs have been introduced in the state while the state government has also launched MSME venture capital funds to promote the sector, Sinha said.
The state government has also introduced Technology Facilitation Centres (TFC) to create an one point solution system to reduce time and maintain transparency.
The state has launched an initiative called "Startup Bengal" to support and nurture startup ecosystem in the state, he informed.
Further, Bengal has a dedicated MSME Policy 2013-2018 with 23 MSME facilitation cells across state as of July 2016, Sinha said, adding that it was very important to create a communication channel among the Centre and state government, banking institutions and private and public industry bodies to support the MSME sector in the country to grow.
Nayantara Palchoudhuri, Member, ICC Executive Committee of said that the MSME sector contributed 8 per cent of India's GDP in 2015, employed 106 million people, accounted for 40 per cent of India's total exports and 45 per cent of the manufacturing output.
The sector has 361.76 lakh enterprises out of which only 15.64 lakh are registered, she said while lauding various initiatives undertaken by the Centre and West Bengal government to promote the sector.
