MSMEs Key to Making India a Leading Electronics Manufacturing Destination
The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector can be the game-changer in making India one of the world-class electronic manufacturing countries, said S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Addressing the CII MSME Growth Summit, Mr. Krishnan stated that this can only happen if the percentage of domestically manufactured components can be stepped up.
"Manufacturing will be one of these significant drivers of the structural transformation of the Indian economy, and electronics will be one of the leading sectors of this transformation. Maritime: We need to increase the domestic value-add in electronics from 18-20 percent to 35-40 percent in the next five years", said Krishnan. "MSMEs will have an important role in this initiative, especially the electronics component manufacturing space".
He added that digitization can transform the MSME sector. He urged smaller players to leverage technology through cluster-based facilities and retrofit existing ones as nominal cost-enhancing means to digitalize.
While underlining the need for a digital economy, Krishnan pointed out that MeitY is presently working out estimation of the size of the digital economy in India. This assessment would, therefore, be giving a clear picture of the digital landscape and how it could potentially help revive sectors like MSMEs.
Dr. Ishita Ganguli Tripathy, Additional Development Commissioner, Ministry of MSME, highlighted that women participation in the registered MSMEs is only 39 percent. She emphasized the coordination of the '7 As' in leveraging women empowerment at work: availability, accessibility, affordability, awareness, accountability, alliance, and achievement. Tripathy said MSMEs have to be educated about the requirements of regulatory compliances and ESG for their sustainable growth.
Not only the government, big enterprises can also help MSMEs, he said. He urged the MSMEs to embrace the digital ecosystem to bring betterment in their functioning. Koshy further announced that insurance is now being added as a new component to the offerings at ONDC. That too will be available shortly.
The summit further highlighted the critical role that MSMEs could play in boosting India's electronics manufacturing aspirations and broad-based economic transformation. Indeed, with accelerated digitization and increased domestic value addition, the contribution of the MSME sector in making India an international destination for electronic manufacturing would also appear in significant measure.
