South India MSME Summit 2019 to be held in Bengaluru on January 17

Leading Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) associations of south India are coming together to organise the South India MSME Summit 2019 to be held at Bengaluru, reported KNN. The summit intends to highlight issues faced by the MSMEs of the region in front of the government and seek suitable solutions.

Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA), in a press release, said, “The objective of the Summit is to discuss key issues with a view of finding solutions to them within a framework which provides the right environment for their growth and development.”

The Summit will take place in the KASSIA Auditorium on January 17, from 11 a.m.

“Though the governments at the Centre and the States have a number of policies aimed at improving the situation for the benefit of SMEs, most of these policies fail in implementation and remain on paper,” stated the release.

Representatives of leading southern associations as well as a large number of entrepreneurs are expected to attend the summit. A common memorandum comprising key issues to be addressed by the government of India and the States will be presented to ministers.

Last month, KASSIA had criticised the new proposed definition for MSMEs.

Basavraj S Javali, President, KASSIA said, “The Union Cabinet has come up with a draft completely revising the definition of MSME. This uses turnover as the basis. However, as per the MSME Act 2006, they are defined on the basis of investment in plant and machinery.”.

In November, the organisation had highlighted that MSMEs in Tier-II and Tier-III cities and rural areas face more survival challenges despite being treated as a priority sector. KASSIA recognised that access to easy finance and modern technology, regulatory constraints and lack of basic infrastructure were hindering MSME growth. Other factors identified were the dearth of marketing and distribution networks, skilled labour and outdated labour laws.