New Delhi, Apr 14 (KNN)  D Gandhikumar, has been re-elected as President of the Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) at a meeting of the Central Executive Committee here.
 
Gandhikumar, the promoter of the Coimbatore based Gandhikumar Foundry has been re-elected for another year at a time when the MSME sector is going through one of the most difficult periods with the manufacturing sector at a nine month low and several of the sectors reporting as much de-growth as over 40 per cent as per the official data for February.
 
“We hope the new government will be more active on manufacturing and revive the economy for the sake of employment generation and promotion of the entrepreneurship,” Gandhikumar, 59, said on April-11, after being chosen again to head the apex body of the MSME sector.
 
He said FISME would closely work with the new government at the Centre and see that the working environment for the MSMEs is improved.  “A major breakthrough is required to bring down the raw material cost as also to overcome the problems of power shortages in several parts of the country.  The industry has to be made competitive both in the domestic market and exports,” he said.
 
Gandhikumar said, the new government should also concentrate on labour reforms and ease of doing business.  India presently ranks at 134 in ease of doing business index of the World Bank.
 
He said a plethora of outdated laws which were framed by the Britishers should be reviewed.  “Either they should be amended according to the requirement of the present day business environment or be scrapped altogether since several of them have outlived their utility.”  (KNN)