Lucknow/New Delhi, Nov 19 (UNI) With cost cutting measures and boosting value chain, Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) in Uttar Pradesh, especially artisans associated with the handloom and handicraft sector have been able to withstand the shocks of high tariffs imposed by the US on India, said UP’s industrial and infrastructure policy makers.
They further said that this relief can be further enhanced if business chambers such as Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) helps small manufacturing clusters to scale up. Participating in a panel discussion on “8 years of UP rising” at the 22nd Indo-US Economic Summit organised by Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) held in New Delhi on Tuesday evening, Kshipra Shukla, Chairperson UPID, Department of MSME, said small scale units said under the flagship One District One Product (ODOP) programme of the Centre, the artisan community in UP is getting both backward and market linkage support for boosting their profitability.
“ODOP has proved to be a game-changer as it is a full capsule package. The artisans working in clusters have utilised it by incorporating advance technologies but at the same time-maintained authenticity of their crafts,” said Shukla. “With the market-linkage support, we prepared the MSMEs with an overview of which products suit US, Europe or the Middle East market and according they do the manufacturing,” added Ms. Shukla.
Deepak Singhal, Former UP Chief Secretary, said initiatives such as “Invest UP” has been successful in attracting new investments into the state largely due to infrastructure development, especially the multiple expressways and the recently inaugurated Jewar Airport, which has enhanced the role of developmental agencies such as Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Authority (UPCEDA) and Bhadohi Industrial Development Authority (BIDA).
“We are seeing new food processing units come up and infrastructure such as cold storages being built for Potato growers, while the ODOP has been a huge success. Thanks to the visionary leadership at the centre at the state, perception with respect to India and UP is now that of transformation and this successful model can be replicated globally,” said Singhal.
He said there was a need for IACC to set-up sub-committees on trading and investment climate, which can prove to be effective in making recommendations after getting a first-hand account of UP’s industrial and growth environment.
Manoj Singh, Former UP Additional Chief Secretary, said the state was an example of institutional urban governance and reformative measures such as the FAR policy of the state government has boosted development.
“The weak links in urban development such as large spaces occupied by hawkers needs developed. Besides, addressing air pollution caused by freight movement of trucks by developing green patches has been a successful measure, which needs further boost,” said Singh. He said the idea of setting up of commerce ministries at the state level was a welcome move.
Moderating the panel discussion, Mukesh Singh, Executive Council Member & Chairman, UP State Coordination Committee, IACC said industry bodies such as IACC should identify smaller MSME clusters across UP and support them for contributing to the state and country’s GDP.
Earlier, speaking at the event, Aseem Arun, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Social Welfare & SCs/STs Welfare in the Government of Uttar Pradesh, emphasized on the need for collaboration to ensure social justice and economic equality along with growth in business partnerships.
“The partnership between the two countries should be more than just about market access. It must also be about shared human problems. Today, India stands as the fourth largest economy in the world. But our model to high growth is unwavering because, this growth is inclusive,” he said. Pranjal Yadav, IAS Secretary for MSME and Industries, Government of Uttar Pradesh noted that Uttar Pradesh has become one of India’s fastest-growing industrial hubs backed by policy reforms and resultant investor confidence.
