MSMEs face bigger challenges as compared to large businesses: Vice President

New Delhi, Feb 18 (KNN) Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has said that Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) face bigger challenges as compared to large corporates.

While addressing the students and faculty of the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design & Manufacturing (IIITDM), Jabalpur, Naidu said that ''MSMEs face more challenges as compared to bigger corporations in adoption of new technologies and exhorted the institutions such as IIITDM to address thisby creating professionals who specialize in ‘Smart Manufacturing’.''

The Vice President said experts feel emerging markets such as India could leverage significantly from the increasing digitisation and interconnection of products, value chains and business models. This will result in operational efficiency and impact sectors such as automobile, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and financial services, he said.

The Vice President also spoke about adoption of AI, robotics, data analytics and challenges faced by MSMEs in adopting them, said the educational institutes play a critical role here adding that ''In this context, the role of institutions such as IIITDM becomes of very crucial. You have an important responsibility to create professionals specialized in ‘Smart Manufacturing’ to address the shortage of high-tech human resources in the country.''

Highlighting the several schemes to promote manufacturing Naidu asserted that the government has taken several initiatives like Make in India, Start-up India initiative to promote entrepreneurship and nurture innovation, and MUDRA and Stand-up India to facilitate access to credit.

''It has also undertaken massive recapitalization of public sector banks to ease availability of credit to MSMEs. Besides, it has undertaken major infrastructure projects, such as the setting up of industrial corridors, to boost manufacturing,'' he added.

---------------------

---------------------