DIPP Secretary to head inter-ministerial panel on MSME

NEW DELHI: The government today set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee to look into issues faced by small units and suggest ways to boost the manufacturing in the sector.

The committee will be headed by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Saurabh Chandra, a Commerce Ministry statement said.

The panel will submit its recommendations within one month, it added.

"The DIPP Secretary will chair an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) for accelerating manufacturing in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Sector," the statement said.

On March 15, a meeting was organised by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Textiles where Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth reviewed and interacted with the stakeholders regarding exports of goods from MSME sector.

In order to examine the suggestions received from the participants in the meeting, an Inter-Ministerial Committee has been set up, the statement said.

The industry has put forward issues pertaining to exports and matters like cost of credit, technology upgradation, skill training and export incentives.

Besides Chandra, other members of the IMC are MSME Secretary Madhav Lal, Ministry of Labour Secretary M Sarangi, Ministry of Food Processing Industries Secretary Rakesh Kacker and Textiles Secretary Zohra Chatterji, the release said, adding the committee may associate such other members as required.

The panel will be serviced by the MSME Ministry, it added. The MSME sector employs over 60 million people in about 2.61 crore units. It contributes about 40 per cent to the country's total exports and about 45 per cent to the manufacturing activities.