Director of Industries, Commerce and Export Promotion J.V.N. Subramanyam said there were about 1,00,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the State and they account for a substantial chunk (₹50,000 crore) of the gross value added by the manufacturing sector (₹85,000 crore) to GSDP but only a negligible number of them were upgrading due to various factors.
A big drawback of the MSMEs was their inability to cater to the export markets despite having the potential. Keeping these things in view, the State government has decided to give performance-based incentives to MSMEs to enable them to grow and it gave importance for export promotion in the upcoming Industrial Policy - 2020-25, he said.
Participating as the chief guest in the inaugural function of a three-day MSME Mega Expo-2020 jointly organised by Federation of Andhra Pradesh Small and Medium Industries’ Association (FAPSIA) and National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) here on Friday, Mr. Subramanyam said the government was taking necessary steps to reduce the initial cost of capital of industries and exhorted the stressed MSMEs to avail the One-Time Restructuring (OTR) of loans under the YSR Navodayam scheme.
He said the Reserve Bank of India has permitted the extension of OTR of loans beyond March 31, 2020, and called upon the banks to encourage viable projects.
‘Focus on branding’
The total exports from the State were worth about ₹98,000 crore whereas the true potential was far higher. This was because MSMEs which constitute the backbone of the economy did not have confidence ,while productivity and quality issues marred their prospects. The MSMEs need to gear up and pay attention to branding.
Mr. Subramanyam said to provide qualified manpower to industries, the State government was setting up a skills university at Visakhapatnam and robotics and artificial intelligence university in Tirupati in addition to sector-specific development centres in each one of the 25pParliamentary constituencies.
Union Bank of India deputy general manager V. Ramesh spoke about certain anomalies in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code which were adversely affecting the MSMEs and advised them to be disciplined in the deployment of working capital.
District Industries Centre General Manager A. Sudhakar and FAPSIA president V. Murali Krishna, working president K. Subba Rao, general secretary E.P.P.C. Rao and treasurer G. Venkateswara Reddy were present.
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