MAIT, an apex body of the information & communication technology (ICT) industry, has recently started an SME chapter to assist small and medium enterprises and guide them to various government schemes. The chapter’s goal is to align SME development with the national priorities. In an interaction with FE, Rahul Gupta, chairman of the SME chapter—he is also managing director, Smile Security & Surveillance Pvt Ltd—says India has the intellectual capacity to develop world-class ICT products. Excerpts:
MAIT has started the SME chapter recently. What were the reasons behind?
MAIT was formed in 1982, and over the past 32 years it has been working towards the ICT industry’s growth, and addressing concerns of the industry. The growth of the IT industry depends on various constituents and SMEs are important for this ecosystem. They play a key role in ensuring that the sector’s growth remains on track. But they still lack adequate resources to harness their true potential. We have seen that SMEs generally do not get direct information about the various government policies and schemes. With the current competitive and challenging business environment where complexities of doing businesses have grown phenomenally, a dedicated effort is required from all stakeholders to empower these SMEs to achieve sustainable growth and become globally competitive.
Through the SME chapter our endeavour is to reach out to all SMEs in the ICT sector and support them to widen their understanding of various government schemes and initiatives on offer that can work towards creating new business opportunities for the industry.
What are the various government schemes available for IT MSMEs?
In the recent past government has focused towards measures related to the development of the SME sector. Both department of electronics and information technology (DeitY) and the ministry of MSMEs are going all out to support the SME sector with an aim to involve them towards making India a manufacturing hub. Some of the government schemes available for the MSMEs include Credit Guarantee Scheme, Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS), Performance & Credit Rating Scheme, MSME Cluster Development Programme, Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme, Marketing Development Assistance Scheme, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme, and Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication (FAB) Manufacturing Facilities.
What kind of IT opportunities are available for MSMEs in India?
IT opportunities are not restricted to Notebooks, Tablet PC, Printers, etc. There are many more products that get imported. In fact the irony of the situation is that most of the software for those products is developed in India. There is no reason that we cannot manufacture hardware also here and create world-class products and appliances that can be exported, in addition to fulfilling the local consumption. Apart from full products, there are many opportunities for hi-tech sub-assemblies as well.
How can small units not part of clusters/IT parks or located in far flung areas tap such opportunities?
Most of the schemes provided by DeitY and MSME and NSIC (National Small Industries Corporation) are available to all irrespective of the location. Only a few schemes have conditions of the SME being in a cluster, etc. Our SME chapter offers the opportunity to every SME to come in the limelight on the MAIT SME portal, where they get a full page to present themselves.
What supportive services MAIT gives to MSMEs?
The creation of the SME chapter under MAIT is an initiative to bring SMEs from across the country onto a single platform and give them an opportunity to update their knowledge about various business opportunities, latest technologies, and investment opportunities available in India and abroad. For a better visibility of Indian ICT SMEs, MAIT would also assist them to showcase their capability, products, services, etc to the larger companies. It will also boost start-ups by facilitating suitable collaborations for them with Indian and foreign partners.
Also, MAIT would work closely with various government departments and agencies for understanding the concerns of SMEs and thus advocate policy and procedural level interventions to create a conducive atmosphere of business operation in the country. In order to support SMEs for all these activities, MAIT has also launched a dedicated portal, http://www.mait sme.com/. The main aim of MAIT is to bring SMEs to the mainstream.