MSMEs Must Upgrade for Growth in AI, Robotics and Defence Sectors, Says Shobha Karandlaje

New Delhi, Jan 6 (KNN) Highlighting India's success in toys and mobile manufacturing, Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Shobha Karandlaje on Tuesday called for the industry to work in the emerging sectors such as AI, robotics, aerospace, and defence technology which hold significant growth potential.

"The future holds significant growth in robotics, aerospace, and defense technology. Accordingly, our MSMEs should upgrade themselves and move forward," she said.

In her keynote address at national conference on strengthening the legal and regulatory architecture for growth of MSMEs jointly organised by Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) and Friends of MSMEs in Parliament, the Minister stressed on the need for skilling, technology upgradation and making banking system MSME-friendly for accelerating the growth of the sector. She noted that the MSME Ministry is holding discussions with the Finance Ministry to see how the banking system can be made more MSME-friendly.

The Minister underlined the need for manufacturing high-quality products to capture a bigger share in the global market.

"We do not know which demand will increase in the world and when it will increase. Whatever we manufacture should be of international standard. For that we need to have good technology and skilled workers. There was a lot of demand for ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat products during the Covid period, but we were unable to supply them as we did not have enough products to meet the international requirements," Ms Karandlaje said.

The Minister also stressed on the need for further formalisation of the MSME sector. She said that many entrepreneurs in the rural areas are not even aware of the Udyam portal. She said that while the number of registrations on Udyam portal had reached 7.4 crores, many people are still not registered on it.

"They fear that once they register on the portal, GST officers may come or they may have to pay higher taxes. Many people are not even aware of the Udyam portal. The MSME sector needs to get further formalised," she said.

(KNN Bureau)