Agreement signed at second Summit in Delhi
The Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), with a membership of over 670 manufacturers, organised on March 14 the second MSME Summit on “Innovation” and also signed an MoU with SIDBI for easy credit access for its members. An expert from SIDBI will be arranging credit and loans to the ACMA members once a week at the ACMA office, for both capital and working capital.
Inaugurating the summit, Mr. Madhav Lal, Secretary, Ministry of MSME, said: “It is indeed heartening to see the auto component fraternity come together for the second summit. The MSME sector is a key driver of the nation’s industrial output. The Indian auto component industry needs to invest in technology, R&D and new product development to surmount the challenges posed by emission norms, diminishing oil supply and increasing fuel prices. The Government understands the need for technology in the MSME segment and hence special emphasis has been laid on the 12th Five-Year Plan. I hope the summit paves way for more innovative solutions, to brace challenges faced by the sector today”.
Currently there are 2.6 million MSMEs in the country across various sectors and the automotive space is likewise dominated by them. Out of the 670 members of ACMA, over 70 per cent fall in that category. ACMA consistently works for the development of its MSME members.
Speaking on the challenges of the MSME sector, Mr Surinder Kanwar, ACMA President, said: “The key challenges faced by MSMEs are similar to those of large enterprises. But considering the relative smaller size of the sector, the issues become more pronounced, whether these relate to access to capital or access to technology. I believe that this MSME summit would help in streamlining and resolving growth and exploration in newer dimensions”.
One of the key growth impediments of MSMEs is access to capital and the cost of capital. It is in this context that the Central Budget announcement of an enhancement in the refinancing capability of SIDBI from Rs. 5,000 crores to Rs. 10,000 crores per year assumed significance.
Mr. Sunil Arora, Chairman, MSME Committee, ACMA, expressing his opinion on innovations, observed: “Innovation has to be a three-dimensional co-ordinated activity between the Government, the industry and the academia. Industry-institute tie-up is an essential part of the eco-system wherein institutes provide basic and applied research input. It is with this objective that the MSME Committee of ACMA has taken this initiative of bringing the three stakeholders together for this MSME summit”.