MSME conclave – preparing for next decade

Ludhiana, August 10, 2019: Federation of Industrial & Commercial Organization (FICO) in association with PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry along with Department of Industries & Commerce, Government of Punjab, organized the MSME Conclave - Preparing for the Next Decade, at Hotel Radisson BLU, Ludhiana. Sibin C (IAS) Director, Industries & Commerce, Government of Punjab was the Chief Guest on the occasion along with Avneet Kaur, PCS, Joint Chief Executive Officer, Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion. More than 150 industry members from in and around Ludhiana attended and benefited from the programme. Mahesh Khanna, GM DIC, Ludhiana was also present on the occasion. Sibin C, IAS, Director, Industries & Commerce, Government of Punjab, Chief Guest thanked PHD Chamber & FICO for providing the opportunity to interact and listen to the issues being faced by Ludhiana industrialists. He said Department of Industries and Commerce has taken various initiatives to bolster the growth of industry in the State. He mentioned, Panchayat land policy is soon getting finalized for developing industrial estate. He further said, Self-employed persons and retail traders can enroll in Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyapari Maan-Dhan Yojana which is a pension scheme for retailers, traders with GST turnover of Rs. 1.5 crore. He also addressed various issues and queries of the industry members during the Conclave. Avneet Kaur, PCS, Joint Chief Executive Officer, Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion said, Invest Punjab is one stop office for all investments to happen in state of Punjab. She made detailed presentation on ease of doing business, Business First Portal, Additional EoDB initiatives and key reforms undertaken by Government of Punjab to facilitate investments in the State. Mukul Bansal, Chairman, Punjab Banking and Financial Services Committee, PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry moderated the Conclave. He mentioned, according to IBEF (India Brand Equity Foundation), the Government of India has set an ambitious target of increasing the contribution of manufacturing output to 25 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2025, from 16 percent currently. He further stated that, Government of India has taken initiatives such as Green Corridors and ‘Make in India’ for the growth of MSME sector. Other Eminent speakers, Sanjiv Singh, Managing Director, Gilard Electronics Pvt. Ltd. shared benefits of automation of business processes and need for digitalization of MSMEs. Dr. H K Sardana, Chief Scientist, CSIO-CSIR Chandigarh highlighted key challenges for India in implementing Industry 4.0. Kundan Lal, Asst. Director, MSME- Development Institute, Ludhiana; Ritesh K Singh, AGM, SIDBI Ludhiana; Rakesh Khurana, Senior Manager, SME- Northern Region, National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. apprised MSMEs on various Fiscal incentives and schemes provided by their respective organizations. Vote of Thanks presented by Manjinder Singh Sachdeva, General Secretary FICO, where He whole heartedly thanked Sibin C, IAS and Avneet Kaur PCS, Officials from Department of Industries and Commerce, Officials from DIC Office Ludhiana, Esteemed Speakers, Representatives from Industry Associations, Banks, Distinguished Guests, Industry Members. He further said that MSME’s in Punjab have also been contributing a great deal to the economy and they can also provide tremendous opportunities for employment creation. Today’s Conclave educated MSME, Industry Associations and other stakeholders in raising awareness on how to improve their productive performance and build the competitive strength.