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Vol II, Issue 13: July 1, 2012 Activities   News   Reader Reactions   Members   Contact     Print Version  

President's Message

President-Mr V.K. Agarwal

"The Awards given to most innovative and export oriented SME segment will definitely spur a new movement among the SMEs, to follow the footsteps of the winners and create a sustainable mechanism to reward and recognize them. "

- V.K. Agarwal, President FISME
(on SME Award function organised at India SME Forum )
Read full press release




Avnet X-fest 2012

Date:July-August, 2012
Venue: Various cities across Asia

See Details

Electronics Rocks 2012

Date: August 30-31, 2012
Venue: Bangalore

See Details

NCEDAR 2012

Date:December 4-6, 2012
Venue: Bangalore

See Details

FTP has failed to give strategic thrust: Survey

FISME survey

According to The FISME Factor survey, an overwhelming majority of MSMEs, 86%, think the government failed to provide a strategic thrust in the annual supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy announced on June 5, 2012.

Dear Readers,
New numbers coming out, especially on growth rate and export growth, once again show FISME is right in calling for a strategic thrust to our export efforts. Despite more price competitiveness due to a weak rupee, exports are not picking up because traditional markets – the US and Eurozone - are extremely sluggish and although Indian exporters have diversified into new markets over the last decade, the process needs to be deepened. Some of the export markets in relatively faster-growing ASEAN region need to be penetrated more deeply and this is where the strategic thrust is needed by greater marketing efforts and smoothening out non-tariff barriers such as lack of mutual recognition agreements for standards and necessary financial and transportation architecture. Much awaited policy measures are also hanging fire and it remains to be seen what shape they will take. Meanwhile, in this issue, we introduce you to a new column on banking and finance - the expert views should prove helpful.
Editor
Advertise in this newsletter

Banking Baatein

Claim losses, damages, get relief under SARFAESI Act


The FISME Factor is proud to present this new, regular column on banking and finance. In this first of a series of articles, well-known banking and finance consultant T.R. Radhakrishnan writes on how you can get substantial relief by filing for a counter-claim for losses and damages under the SARFAESI Act.

Policy Polemic

PM takes charge of Finance — and how!


What a stunning difference taking over Finance Ministry has made to the persona of Dr Manmohan Singh! Seemingly clueless, listless and rudderless as Prime Minister, he has suddenly begun exhibiting verve and vigour, and morphed, in a manner of speaking, into a mouse that roars!

Finance Fundamentals

Get waiting periods waived in Group Health Insurance


Waiting periods prescribed in group insurance policies can be done away with. Abhishek Bondia offers a guide to what you can ask your insurance broker to do when purchasing a group insurance policy for your employees.

Marketing Mantras

10 myths about industrial product design


In India, World Industrial Design Day goes as unnoticed as a new film released without any star; yet most of us have come in touch with hundreds of products designed by industrial designers in our daily life. We have loved products, used them, abused them and hated them as much since time immemorial.


Directory of Testing Laboratories in India

Directory of Testing Laboratories in India
Buy our one-of-a-kind guide to all industrial testing laboratories in India. Find the one most convenient for getting your products tested and certified. An invaluable compendium for all industrial units and exporters.
PP: 894, Hard Cover.
Price: Rs 900.
50% discount for members.

Handbook for Managing Export Payment Risks 

Fismi-Book-Cover-front
If you are an exporter you simply cannot do without this unique publication which tells you how to manage payment and other risks arising from exports.
PP: 78.
Price: Rs 300.
50% discount for members.

Free Publications

Fertilizer quality control in India: Need for change 

Fertilizer-Book-small
This monograph argues for a systemic change in fertiliser quality control. Essential reading for those in policy-making positions.
FISME regularly receives monthly reports on the economies of various countries from their missions in India. These reports provide information on key economic parameters, trade related information and all news relevant for importers and exporters. In this edition you can take a look at reports on:
UK

FISME organises seminar on cloud computing in Pune

FISME, the leading representative of Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), organised a seminar on cloud computing in Pune on June 20, 2012. This was the fourth such event under a series titled ‘SME Connect - Helping new age SMEs innovate and compete with cloud technology’ being held across the country. The seminar was held in association with the Indian arm of global software giant Microsoft Corporation together with a number of partner organisations such as Association for the Promotion of Plastics, Foundry & Forge Training Centre, Auto Cluster Development & Research Institute Ltd., All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA), ASM International Pune Chapter, Hinjewadi Industries Association, Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers Association (IMTMA), Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) and Maharashtra Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (MCED).

FISME partners Reliance group co for SME Forum & Awards

The India SME Forum a not for profit initiative launched by Reliance Commercial Finance, the lending arm of Reliance Capital Ltd in partnership with FISME as SME partner and other organisations announced in Mumbai on July1, 2012 the SME 100 awards and the launch of a 12-city free knowledge forum series to groom aspiring and eligible SMEs on various business aspects so as to enable them to elevate their business to the next level. The objectives of the forum are to foster the development of a flourishing entrepreneurial culture and a competitive SME sector to support economic development. The forum has Mr K V Srinivasan CEO of Reliance Commercial Finance, Mr Lakshman Gullugothu, CEO of BSE SME Exchange, Mr Parag Patki, CEO of SME Rating Agency of India and Mr V K Agarwal, President of FISME on its Jury board amongst other luminaries.

First SME Knowledge Forum held in Jaipur

The first of the 12-city SME Knowledge Forum series was held in Jaipur on June 26, 2012. The India SME Forum is a not-for-profit initiative launched by Reliance Commercial Finance, the lending arm of Reliance Capital in partnership with FISME as SME partner and other organisations including, among others, Sustainable Development Research and Consulting, GO Airlines, Mahindra and Mahindra, SMERA and Bloomberg UTV. At the forum some of the speakers included: Mr. Sandip Parikh, Head Finance & Operations, Reliance Commercial Finance, Mr. Shashi Ravulapaty, CTO, Reliance Commercial Finance, Mr. Tanuj Dewan, Regional manager-North & East, SMERA, Mr. Harbinder Sokhi, BSE, SME Exchange, Delhi, Mr. Vinod Kumar, Country Manager SDRC, Mr. Navneet Tripathi, Director Mercury Designs, Mr. Vivek Chaturvedi - CEO All 4 Brand, Mr. Shashi Ravalaputy CTO Reliance Capital, Mr Venkataramani, Executive Director, SMC, Mr. V. N. L. Rao, HR Consultant & EAR Hon. Advisor, Mr. Vikas Gupta, Dy. Director MSME, Mr. Vikas Gupta, Deputy Director MSME, Mr. P. N. Sharma, GM - DIC Jaipur, Rural, Mr. K. K. Sharma, Sr. Br. Manager NSIC Ltd. Jaipur and Mr. Adarsh Mahipal Gupta, MD Autolite.
Should the RBI cut interest rates in the monetary policy review scheduled for July 31, 2012?

Planning Commission survey on business environment

On behalf of the Planning Commission of India, the Institute for Competitiveness, New Delhi, is conducting a survey of Indian micro, small and medium enterprises to assess the business environment of each state of India. The response to the questionnaire will help the Indian government to formulate policies for improving business conditions in every state and enhancing the overall competitiveness of the country. All MSME readers are requested to enthusiastically respond to the questionnaire. The questionnaire is available at http://competitiveness.in/india-competitiveness/planning-commission or Download Questionnaire and will take around 20 minutes to fill up.

Macro Metre

Core sector grows marginally in May

Reflecting slowdown in the economy, the growth rate of eight infrastructure sectors slowed to 4.6 per cent in May due to poor performance of crude oil, natural gas and fertiliser. The core industries, which also include coal, electricity, cement, petroleum refinery products and finished steel, and carry 37.9 per cent weight in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had grown by 5.8 per cent in May last year.
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Manufacturing growth inches up in June: HSBC PMI

India's manufacturing sector inched up in June as the country saw improvement in business conditions as well as hiring, an HSBC survey said. The HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) - a measure of factory production - improved slightly to 55 in June, from 54.8 in May. A reading above 50 shows that the sector is growing. Below 50, it indicates that the segment is contracting.
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Domestic Digest

Change of guard at the MSME ministry

Union Science and Technology Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has been given additional charge of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) following the resignation of the incumbent MSME Minister Virbhadra Singh from the Union Council of ministers.

SBH cuts MSME loan interest rates

In order to lend a helping hand to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector, which is under enormous stress, the State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) has decided to slash the interest rates to the MSME sector across the board. The reduction in the interest rate range from 100 basis points to 250 basis points across various slabs. Further, the bank has clubbed all the separate interest rate slabs below Rs 25 lakh into a single slab with a lower rate of interest.

Oriental Bank slashes rates on agriculture, MSME loans

Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) has slashed interest rates by 100-250 basis points on certain agricultural advances, considered as preferred segments of the economy. The bank has also launched a new scheme for the mid-corporate segment including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). MSME borrowers up to a certain credit limit will enjoy lower interest rates, Mr S.L.Bansal, Chairman & Managing Director of OBC said.
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Odisha joins TN in offering MSME incentives online

After Tamil Nadu, Odisha will be the second state in the country to offer fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs) via the online mode. The state government expects to provide all facilities for the sector mentioned under MSME Development Policy-2009 and Industrial Policy Resolution (IPR)-2007 by September this year.

SIDBI to enter loan syndication consultancy soon

To help small businesses tide over the issue of raising finances, specialised financial institution Sidbi recently said it will soon be offering loan syndication consultancy to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). "Currently, micro, small and medium enterprises go to consultancies for loan syndication. So we will come out with our own offering which will be transparent and accessible for all," Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) Deputy Managing Director N K Maini told reporters.
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SIDBI to invest Rs 5,000 cr in MSME sector

The Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) on said recently that it would utilise the Rs 5,000 cr venture fund allocated to it for investments in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in the next four years. The Lucknow-based development bank said small and medium enterprises (SME) sector, which contributes around 17 per cent to India's GDP, was facing a slowdown.

SIDBI to mentor budding small entrepreneurs

To boost entrepreneurship and provide working capital to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), the Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) has reoriented its business model. The refinance agency has identified gaps in MSME funding, both structural and procedural, and charted a roadmap for handholding budding entrepreneurs.

SIDBI to help MSMEs adopt green technologies

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) plans to promote environment-friendly firms and equip Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to adopt environment-friendly technology in their operations. It is also working towards eliminating child labour, which is rampant in the MSME sector.

SME exporters' profits higher than domestic peers: CRISIL

SMEs exporting goods, mainly in sectors like engineering and leather, earn higher profit margins compared to their domestic peers as they enjoy better pricing in global markets, credit rating agency Crisil said in a study. The study was conducted on 1,800 small and medium units (SMEs) mainly in four export oriented sectors--agricultural and processed foods, engineering, leather and textiles.

MSME sector is key to Indian economy: Morgan Stanley

The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in India sector has grown at an annual rate of about 5 %, in terms of investment, the sector has grown by 10% and the accompanying employment in the sector has also increased. This was stated by Aisha de Sequeira, managing director Morgan Stanley and head of its investment banking in India. Sequeira was delivering the keynote speech at the annual general meeting of the Goa Small Scale Industries at Panaji recently.

RBI’s non-easing of monetary policy ‘unjustified’: SMEs

A whopping 93% of industries in the SME sector opine that the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) decision to keep the interest rate unchanged was completely out of line, according to a quick poll conducted by one of the apex industry bodies.

Plans for toy innovation centre in UP

The ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), along with Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Toys Association of India (TAI) are working towards setting up of an innovation centre for toys at Ghaziabad. “We’re trying to bring back the initiative that began way back and get an agreement done between the government and TAI for setting up of an innovation centre for toy manufacturing,” said MSME secretary RK Mathur recently while inaugurating the 6th Toy Biz International Expo at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
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Northeast India to give priority to MSME sector

Northeast India has decided to focus promoting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector and extend the benefits of North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP) 2007 to this sector. Forum of Northeast India industry minister reviewed NEIIPP in Guwahati recently. Chairman of forum and Assam industry minister, Pradyut Bordoloi said that, "Big industry needs large lands which are presently not available in Northeast India."

Printing and packaging cluster in Ludhiana approved

The proposal of Offset Printers' Association (OPA), Ludhiana, for development of a printing and packaging cluster in Ludhiana was approved during the 30th steering committee meeting of the MSME Cluster Development Programme in New Delhi. The Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sanctioned Rs. 23.85 lakh for soft intervention of a printing and packaging cluster in Ludhiana during a meeting held recently at Nirman Bhawan in the national capital, said SS Dhillon, director, MSME DI, Ludhiana.

Info-tech majors target small businesses for cloud services

Be it software companies such as NIIT Technologies and SAP India or hardware players such as Dell India, info-tech majors are focusing on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to offer cloud computing services. Though the market is still nascent, companies have started providing cloud service to SMEs, and some have dedicated business units (BUs) for it. “NIIT Tech has cloud as a separate BU to cater to SMEs through the cloud computing delivery model. We are currently targeting the BFSI and manufacturing segments of the SME segment,” Mr Arvind Mehrotra, President, Asia-Pacific, NIIT Technologies, said.
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Opportunities for MSMEs in Bhathinda

The availability of petrochemical products at Panipat Indian Oil Unit and HMEL at Bhatinda may offer an investment opportunity for the small and medium entreprenuers to invest in Punjab and Haryana. Government of India’s Joint Secretary of chemicals said that up to 500 units can come up in this region to absorb the raw material (polyporpylene, polyethanole, poly styrine and PVC) available at Panipat and Bhatinda refineries.

MSME Board suggests reforms in six industries

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Development Advisory Board put forward some crucial recommendations in a report recently, ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit (VGGIS) scheduled for January 2013. The MSME Advisory Board, an apex authority in charge of MSME development in Gujarat consisting of industry representatives, sector experts and government officials, put forward recommendations primarily on the state’s six major MSME sectors.

Noida SMEs lose business due to power cuts

Extended power cuts in Noida industrial units have pushed down growth in the small-scale sector by over 50 per cent in the past two months, according to a latest report by one of the apex trade associations on the impact of power shortage on small industries in the national capital region (NCR). “The frequent power cuts in Noida have caused its industrial units loose 50 percent of their planned production in the last two months and if this trend is not arrested, industrial units in the region would loose their production to an extent of 60 percent," said the apex industry body report.

Focus on China    

DBS launches SME-focused financial services

DBS Bank (Taiwan) announced new financial services for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) recently, featuring speedy loans, higher interest rates for savings accounts, discounts for international and domestic remittances, and a foreign currency risk hedging service. “Taiwanese SMEs are the backbone of Taiwan's economy,” stated DBS Managing Director Kenneth Cheng. In 2008, DBS lent NT$7-8 billion to SMEs in Taiwan and in May of this year the amount of money increased to NT$28 billion. According to Cheng, DBS aims to become the bank recognized as the best financial institution for SMEs.

Focus on Malaysia    

Masterplan to chart direction, progress of SMEs

The government has drawn up a masterplan to chart the direction and progress of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said. He said the plan would focus on creating an enabling ecosystem to accelerate the growth of SMEs through productivity gains and innovation.

Focus on UK    

Finance access for small firms 'eases'

The SME Access to Finance report found 87% of firms were able to access all of the money they were seeking - up from 79% in the last survey in 2010. There was also a fall in the number of outright rejections by banks. But there was a marginal rise in the proportion of firms who secured none of the money they were seeking. The Scottish government said the survey provided "some evidence of an easing in supply constraints".

SME borrowing costs remain high despite govt scheme

Small businesses are paying more to borrow than a year ago, despite the launch in March of the Government’s credit easing scheme, according to new figures. The average interest rate on a loan to small and medium-sized businesses stood at 3.71pc at the end of April, just 0.08pc lower than the previous month when the scheme was launched and 0.09pc higher than it was 12 months ago.

The FISME Factor is impressive and informative, say readers

Read what readers have to say on this newsletter and various other issues.

Business Opportunities for India in Canada

There are business opportunities available for Indian companies in Canada. The interested candidates can check details.

4 new members join FISME

During the period June 15, 2012 to June 30, 2012 a total of 4 new MSMEs became members of FISME.

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This Newsletter is edited by the FISME Secretariat. We welcome contributions as well as comments and suggestions. Please write to newsletter@fisme.org.in

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