MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari mulls award to businesses paying MSMEs on time

Credit and Finance for MSMEs: The MSME Ministry is looking to recognise businesses and organisations that have been making on-time payments to MSMEs for goods and services purchased. MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari during a webinar organised by a pro-entrepreneurship alliance of organisations — Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME) on Wednesday also thanked such buyers for making timely payments. “My special thanks to all CEOs who are promptly paying. The idea is now coming to my mind that we should create some awards for those who are very punctual and giving time-bound payment to MSMEs,” Gadkari said. The MSME Ministry had written to over 2,800 corporates in October, after writing to 500 such businesses in September, to settle MSME payments.

The minister stressed developing technologies from existing resources to create products of global standards. This comes amid PM Modi’s Vocal for Local and Atmanirbhar Bharat campaigns to boost manufacturing among small businesses in India and promote entrepreneurship for doing so. The government already runs multiple initiatives around encouraging entrepreneurship such as Startup India, Standup India, Entrepreneurship Skill Development Programme, etc. “Mass entrepreneurship is very important. We have institutes of management, financial management, human resources but we don’t have institute of entrepreneurship. Conversion of knowledge into wealth is the future of the country but the conversion of waste into wealth is equally important. We need to find out a small technology by using available raw material in that area and we can make products of international standards,” Gadkari added.

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Currently, the government has 18 technology centres to create skilled manpower and is working on developing 15 more such centers, according to a statement by the MSME Ministry in August 2020, citing Gadkari. It is now looking to lease these centers to engineering institutions for practical training to the youth. “We already have a lot of technology centers in the country and till now we have invested Rs 6,000 crore in it. But now we are planning to give technology centers on a lease basis to engineering colleges, IITs, polytechnic colleges, and industry associations for them to understand what exactly practical training is needed in that area. We need to develop products, designs and it is the need of the hour.”

Technology Centres, also known as Tool Rooms, offer precision tooling along with new technologies including CAD/CAM, CNC machining for tooling, vacuum heat treatment, rapid prototyping, etc. The existing centers serve sectors including auto parts, sports goods, glass, fragrance and flavour, footwear, electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM), aerospace, etc.