Editorials
by Rajen Kumar
APEDA Rendering Lip Service
For over four years now, we have been making relentless efforts to fill information deficit that painfully exists in the country's Micro, Small and Medium Sector. Encouragingly enough,...
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Special Reports
Jan 2012Be Skeptical. Be very Skeptical. Mistake upon Mistake
In recent months, we've had a few slip-ups by the official statistical system in India: • Yesterday's IIP release was preceded by a mistake. Mint says: On Monday, the...
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Cover Stories
Feb, 2012
Two-day QCI Seminar a Big Success: MSMEs Must Adopt Quality Tools: Experts
Stressing the need to adopt quality tools by the MSMEs sector's various stakeholders, K. C. Mehra, Chairman, NBQP said that Quality is a continuing process. “Quality is a journey which is never completed.”
He was inaugurating the National Workshop on 'Enabling MSMEs to be Competitive through Quality Tools' organized jointly by Quality Council of India and the Ministry for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in New Delhi recently.
Jan, 2012
MSMEs in 2012 and Beyond - The Sectors That Hold Promise
The year 2011 started off quite well for me. There were some personal accomplishments, new professional alliances, projects and work to look forward to. But half way down the year, I lost my father suddenly. It was a bolt from the blue, absolutely unexpected. Not that I do not believe in life and death but it was too abrupt and I was totally unprepared, never saw it coming so soon. I felt the earth shifting beneath my feet and everything seemed extremely challenging and tough. A remarkable inner revelation occurred while I was grappling with this tragedy. I realized that since now my protective shield is down, I have only two choices – to remain exposed and get hit or consolidate my position, take stock of what strengths and assets I have and rebuild everything. I realized that I still have rest of my family around, my education, experience, network of acquaintances, friends and well-wishers to bank upon. When our life hits rock bottom, the only way out is towards the top. Pushed in a corner by any kind of adversity, either we have to fight back or we can choose to perish. It is the choices and our attitude which guide the future course of our lives.
Dec, 2011
Governance Propels Growth and Glocalization
In the last few years, whenever a discussion has commenced on economic development, investments, increase in GDP, per capita income etc., Gujarat has always been on the forefront. What is the core reason that has helped prop it to this enviable position? Why are so many companies investing in the state and trusting it with so much money and efforts? Why is the economy booming there? Why does everyone want a share in the growth pie even though there are frequent negative publicity of the state and its administration? Why the other states are lagging behind or are not pursued like Gujarat for investments?
Nov, 2011
Development and SMEs: Synergize to Sustain
We hear and read about economy and its development regularly. It is a very broad term pointing towards improvement of economic well-being of a nation and therefore of its population on the whole. A layperson's yardstick of measuring this development could be through analysis of the general quality of life in a country.
Oct, 2011
Zero PAR and Delinquency Management in Indian Micro-Finance: Implications For Credit Risk Management
The issue of delinquency has long dominated the micro-finance debate and it has been said that micro-finance boasted among the best repayment rates till recently in (all of) the financial sector. This has usually reflected itself as “Zero” or near “Zero” PAR (Portfolio at Risk). However, as I traveled through the field areas during the recent Andhra Pradesh(Indian) micro-finance crisis, I realized that Zero “PAR” was a conscious strategy pursued by MFIs and that the real repayment situation may not be quite as good as portrayed. I will attempt to highlight lessons/ issues relating to Zero PAR and delinquency in this article for the benefit of various stakeholders, including RBI which is drafting detailed guidelines for micro-finance and the Union Ministry of Finance (MoF) which is preparing a bill to legislate all of Indian micro-finance. And I shall first introduce the concept of PAR and identify its strengths/weaknesses before delving into the Zero PAR issue.
Sep, 2011
NSIC Braces up for the Next Level
Set to move to the next level of growth, NSIC is bracing up to create an all-new ecosystem to bring more and more people especially from tier II and tier III townships to have easy access to a variety of its services to create work opportunities for them.
Dr. H.P. Kumar, Chairman cum Managing Director, NSIC, has set his vision to turn the corporation into a magnificent power house of entrepreneurship and the planning is already underway. “Our eyes are on the future which calls for an ecosystem in tune with the growing demands of work opportunities.”
Aug, 2011
BSE SME Exchange Promises World Class Platform for SMEs
A large number of merchant bankers are optimistic about the SME Exchange/ Platform. The market makers will get the fees out of the issue expenses, like the merchant bankers. The members who have the experience of market making in the past are positive on the scope of market making in this segment. Investors' outlook is not yet clear.
Scrip on Healthy Small Bourse: SME Stock Exchange in Context of Corporate Governance
SEBI has been doing a commendable job by taking various measures in order to protect the Shareholder and Investors interest. Now, the clearance for setting up of the SME Stock Exchange for facilitating financing of growth oriented Small and Medium Enterprises.
Traditional Finance Model for SMEs to Change
The requirement of having net tangible assets of at least Rs. 3 cr. in each of the preceding 3 full years, a track record of distributable profits for at least 3 out of immediately preceding 5 years and a net worth of at least Rs. 1 cr. in each of the preceding 3 years, as per the existing ICDR regulations is relaxed for a company to be listed on SME exchange.
Jul, 2011
A Culture of Innovation: The Ultimate Guarantor of Business Growth
According to research and studies done on change, a majority of change initiatives fail to achieve desired outcomes due to the poor acceptability by the employees and poor implementation of change policies and procedures. The world's best idea is futile if it remains on the drawing board.
Jun, 2011
Liquidity Crunch, Uncertainty Stalks Microfinance Sector
Development practitioners still maintain that the extension of financial services to the poor in an efficient manner can help them climb out of poverty. Overtime, policy makers and practitioners have developed a novel understanding of the movement's objectives--many see microfinance as an effective mechanism for achieving financial inclusion.
Working Women's Forum : Power to the Poor
The current liberalization and economic restructuring does not benefit the poor in India as elsewhere, with 41% living below poverty line, WWF is a future oriented, multi-pronged initiative and a pro-poor strategy that helps the Indian poor women to face the onslaught of globalization.
Critical Issues For Policy Makers and Other Stakeholders
Indeed, what has become more apparent with this kind of skewed growth is the dualistic nature of the Indian economy - where the gaps are indeed deepening and widening across various sections of the society. The classic manifestation of these gaps and the failure of the economy to re-adjust and ensure equitable economic opportunities for wealth creation, especially in relation to the work and inputs, can hardly go unnoticed –one manifestation is suicides by small and marginal farmers, at the grass-roots.
Re-Engineering the Inclusive Finance Paradigm
Second, the focus of financial inclusion must be re-engineered such that the delivery of financial services are used to strategically to drive higher rewards, better remuneration and greater power down the value chain as shown later in Figure 2 – otherwise, it will be of limited use. And again, as said before, to achieve this, one needs to better understand existing relationships, particularly in post harvest and post production marketing situation in different value chains.
Microfinance - Important Role in Economic Growth
There is a lot of hype surrounding microfinance. For some, microfinance is an effective tool used to promote large-scale poverty alleviation. For others, it is simply considered a way for moderately poor individuals to better their own situations. Statistics have shown that overwhelmingly (above 95%) of the entrepreneurs, who have availed microfinance interviewed reported that their loan had a positive impact on both their personal and professional lives. That is certainly something to be proud of.
May, 2011
The Imprint of Big Business on Policy: For Whom the Bell Tolls?
Empirical work in academics has not considered its worthwhile to delve into the issue. What then is the state of the MSME sector is only a matter of conjuncture. It appears to be a story of hit and run accident on the road. Save your skin if you can or you may be run over--it could be an injury or death.
Withering Heights: SMEs Wilting Under LE Dominance
Today, though we are constantly berating government and industry policies, banking norms, economic reform measures etc., for the stunted growth of the biggest employment generation segment – small and medium enterprises; it is the large enterprises that are significantly instrumental in impeding the growth in more ways than one. This article aims to look at the various spheres where large industries' (LEs) clout is wilting the SMEs.
MSMEs Secretary's singular efforts on procurement from MSMEs: ‘SMEs are Servants; LEs Masters'
The secretary of Ministry of Micro Small & Medium Enterprises, Uday Kumar Varma expressed his anguish on the dominating cult of the large corporate who hover over the small enterprises in a developing economy. He said that the large companies in India are like masters and treat the SMEs as servants.
Apr, 2011
Time to Re-evaluate, Restructure, Rejuvenate
The new business year has begun. The recent central government budget has been presented with certain changes – positive and negative. There are strong undercurrents of General Sales Tax as well as the Direct Tax Code in the coming years. What impact they will have is anybody's guess at the moment but they will definitely create some ripples or waves in various aspects of the business environment.
Measures to enhance the competitiveness of Indian MSMEs in the global market
Rising inflationary pressure has indeed started affecting MSME sector. This has not only made the life of MSMEs difficult but also tightened the belt of people employed in the MSME sector. Inflationary pressure has to be matched with simultaneous wage hike.
Mar, 2011
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for SMEs: Random Musings
As a business grows, number of people starts increasing and functions are segregated either formally or informally. Soon, situations start arising where there are gaps in communication leading to duplicity or loss of data and information. Initially, people are complacent and try to find a way around to resolve the issues. In due course of time confrontations start occurring with casting aspersion at each other.
Role of ICT in Development of Herbal and Medicinal Plants in India
India is a land to about 17,000 species of higher plants, out of which 7500 are known for their therapeutic uses. Ayurveda, has alone reported approximately 2000 medicinal plant species, followed by Siddha and Unani. The Charak Samhita, an ancient written document with rich literature regarding herbal therapy, production of around 340 herbal drugs and their indigenous uses for curing various ailments and diseases.
'E-commerce is still at a Nascent Stage in India' - says Arvind Kajaria, the man behind 123greetings.com
Today the social media websites and the mobile applications are gaining momentum. The traffic is moving towards the social media websites. Thus, the opportunity to develop customized applications on those sites exists thereby taking advantage of the huge traffic following.
'Website is the Most Competitive Communication Platform' - Tarun Davda, Business Head, Big Rock
The website penetration in India is very low as there is an absence of trusted partners, which has significant experience of taking business online, along with lack of knowledge among consumers. In India, there are roughly about 80-90 million Internet users and some 1.7 million-odd websites that translates into 'only 2 websites for every 100 Indian Internet users' or connections, while globally this ratio is 12 or 13 websites per every 100 Internet users.
'ICT Can speed-up the business process' says Jayan Narayanan of CSS Corp
Choosing the right cloud application is a challenge. Since the game is about picking the 'need of the hour' modules, SMEs can go slow to start with and gradually increase the portfolio of applications based on need and comfort. Initially SMEs can opt for a hybrid model (Mix of enterprise apps and cloud based apps) and progress closer to cloud step-by-step.
Feb, 2011
Impact of Globalisation on SMEs
The liberalization move called for supporting changes in the economic policies of this nation. It heralded quite a substantial economic reform steps to produce the necessary environment to foster growth and sustenance in the new scenario.
New and Innovative Schemes for Technology Development of MSMEs
The Ministry of MSME has taken a number of initiatives for further improving the performance under PMEGP through KVIC like implementing e-application tracking system and related data collection and its uploading in the system, relaxation in mandatory EDP stipulation etc.
Entrepreneurs in the Competitive Global Market: Where are They After 20 Years of Economic Reforms?
This indeed raise a pertinent question, can entrepreneurship be learned really? There are numerous programmes of entrepreneurship development in this country. There are specialized institutes focusing on entrepreneurship training.
Jan, 2011
Credit Ratings Need Pragmatic Approach: A cogent Analysis
A credit rating is a professional opinion given after studying all available information at a particular point of time. Nevertheless, such opinions may prove wrong in the context of subsequent events. Further, there is no privity of contract between an investor and a rating agency and the investor is free to accept or reject the opinion of the agency.
Credit Rating and MSMEs
The importance of MSMEs for the overall economy cannot be overstated. Besides the growth potential of the sector and its critical role in the manufacturing and value chains, the heterogeneity and the unorganised nature of the Indian MSMEs are important aspects that need to be factored into credit decisions.
The Credit Rating Rigmarole in SMEs – an Honest Anecdote
The whole rating exercise was found to be highly shallow and inadequate in its approach. The agency did not bother to understand the intricacies of the business and rated simply on pre-set parameters without trying to analyze the underlying causes thereby trying to establish an inference of the findings.
Dec, 2010
IITF Falls Short of Entrepreneurs' Expectations
“It is very sad that IPTO failed to promote those enterprises which had a huge potential for trading their products. I saw many enterprises with vision and innovative products tucked away in remote corners visited by few. Ofcourse,' Techmart' and MSME Pavilion were given better visible or prominent places. I think the authority is only concerned with money with least concern with promoting the trade and entrepreneurs.”
Trade Fairs Are Not for Trading
For ITPO, trade fairs are yet a business proposition, not a promotional activity. The IITF seems to be fast losing its luster. Times have changed and let the organization has a new ecosystem which justifies its very name.
Cost Effective & Employment Generation Oriented Technologies Showcased
“NSIC through their Techmart India is providing single window platform for showcasing clean & energy efficient /employment generating technologies, to start their own industry. It is needless to say that in India and world wide entrepreneurship through MSMEs has become catalyst to blossom into large scale business empires from small start ups (like Microsoft, Infosys, Biocon, etc),”
Relevance of Trade Fairs & Exhibitions for SMEs
Rather than focussing on developing exhibition space in few metro cities, the government needs to take measures to develop a much more regionalised development of exhibition infrastructure, in such a way that benefits rural and semi-urban MSMEs as well.
Nov, 2010
Business-To-Business Marketing (B2B) – Effective Marketing Enabler
By bringing together huge numbers of buyers and sellers, thus creating virtual markets and by automating transactions, B2B markets expand the choices available to buyers, give sellers access to new customers, and reduce transaction costs for all the players.
IT is everywhere: Embracing ICT is imperative for MSMEs
Internally, there is a constant creation of data in a business through its various functions like Procurement, Production, Sales, Service Delivery, Post-sales Support, Accounts and Administration etc. This data is of no use unless it is collated and sorted to create information which can help in creating an advantage for the enterprise and help in operational and .....
Cyber tools for MSMEs & Entrepreneurs
Again, actual ICT adoption within our manufacturing companies, especially Micro, Small and Medium sized companies India has nothing much to be boasted about, with just 45 percent of rural enterprises. While that remain a fact, technology has started impacting lives of the people, businesses, the way businesses are run, marketed etc.
Oct, 2010
The Richest Czarinas of India
Many a billionaire women have inherited their empire and yet multiplying their wealth is truly praiseworthy. They have done it with poise and the beauty is they have acquired fame. This is often a testimony of their high education, wisdom, professional skills and entrepreneurial abilities.
Sep, 2010
SMEs in India - A Bird’s - Eye View
In reality however, this has not been the case. In the last two decades, MSMEs have been buffeted by intense competition both from within the country and outside. And in many cities and towns, it is common to find stores sell products that were locally manufactured earlier(toys, flashlights, electronics, gadgets, hand tools etc.) that have mysteriously found their way into our stores from factories in China.
Jul, 2010
Harpreet Ahluwalia’s Tryst with Nature: Creating Green Space in Your Life
It all started when she got a potter custom design a few pots for her. She decorated them with plants in rhythm with different themes to make them meaningful. People started liking them and she got orders for more such pots and plants. She soon found that she is in the business and launched Earthly Creations, about a decade ago.
Jun, 2010
Striving for a Smiling Society
Of late, individuals as well as the Indian corporate have been initiating efforts for the upliftment of the society. Be it a film personality or a social celebrity or an organization or any large corporate, the activities for the betterment of the society are gaining ground. It doesn't matter what the objectives are, the remarkable part remains that the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) wave is beginning to blow trying to bring smile of millions of underprivileged faces of society.
May, 2010
IPRs as a Tool for Empowerment of Small Entrepreneurs, Artisans & Craftsmen
Majority of the professionals in the country are not well-aware about the IPR protection and this veil of anonymity is thicker in case of micro and small enterprises. Micro and small enterprises, generally, are more vulnerable to violation of IPR laws in comparison to large corporate who do have means and the resources to monitor and safeguard their interests and act in alacrity in case of infringement of their trademark, copyright, patent rights etc.
Apr, 2010
“A New Class of Investors Will Emerge” - Paul Joseph
Most of the Boards/Exchanges for SME in the world are functioning very well in terms of raising capital and trading in the shares of SME. The most well-known success stories of SME listed on Exchanges are Microsoft, Oracle and Intel.
Mar, 2010
Budget Raaga on FM 2010 Mhz: No Great Budge(t) for MSMEs sector
The fact is that the Prime Minister constituted a high-level Task Force which held detailed discussions with all stake holders and drew an agenda for the action seems to find not enough favour in the budget.
Feb, 2010
Recommendations are Rosy But when will Benefits come?
Not many. The Credit Guarantee Trust of Micro & Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) which assures collateral free loans has done little and has miserably failed to meet the objective for which it stands. It is a sad commentary that the Trust is reported to have felicitated not more than one lakh units out of the whopping population of 26 million entreprrises.
Task Force Recommends setting up of an integrated independent body for MSMEs sector
The proposed independent body will provide financial and managerial support for setting up of industrial estates and raise developmental infrastructure in partnership with the private sector.
Detailed Report of the Task Force
The MSME sector is a nursery of entrepreneurship, often driven by individual creativity and innovation. This sector contributes 8 per cent of the country's GDP, 45 per cent of the manufactured output and 40 per cent of its exports. The MSMEs provide employment to about 60 million persons through 26 million enterprises.
Jan, 2010
New Era for Indian MSMEs Ready to Dawn?
Certain key recommendation were made in a meeting of the 11-member task force members headed T.K.A. Nair recently. Senior officials from various ministries and public sector banks were part of the meeting.
Oct, 2008
Can Our Industries Save Yamuna?
All great civilizations in the world developed along river banks. The rivers have been sustaining life in its various manifestations and glory. The importance of rivers in India can be understood by one simple fact that almost all rivers are worshipped as goddesses.
Our Achievements
- Winner of appreciation award for promoting SMEs in India.
- 1st ever Indian magazine to penetrate tier II, III cities & the rural belt.
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- Official Magazine Partners for several national & international MSME events.
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The Last Word
Down the Memory Lane
Zainul Abdin was the only person who would pour his heart out to me in a mix of Urdu-Hindi (Hindustani ) in hush-hush tones during the war-torn Dhaka (then Dacca) in the early 70s where I worked...
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