Tech fund for small scale industries

Tech fund for small scale industries
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, JUNE 7: The Ministry of Small Scale Industry (SSI) will soon set up a `Technology Upgradation Fund' for small scale industry on the lines of the Rs 25,000 crore Textile Upgradation Fund, SSI Minister Vasundhara Raje said today.

"We will soon be setting up a Technology Upgradation Fund to help SSI units to upgrade their technology," Raje said at the annual general meeting of the Federation of Engineering Industries of India (FEII) here.

Raje said the fund would be similar to the textile fund but added that a corpus for the fund had not yet been finalised. "The proposal has been given `in-Principle clearance' by the Planning Commission but the commission has sent it to its member Dr S P Gupta for further review," Raje said.

The Planning Commission has appointed a study group under the chairmanship of Dr S P Gupta to make recommendations for the development of the SSI sector.

Raje said that recommendations for a comprehensive policyfor the SSI sector was being prepared by the Administrative Staff College (ASC), Hyderabad. The ASC has been mandated by the ministry to consider the recommendations made by all the committee's on SSI's, she said adding that all the legislations covering SSI's would also be eviewed by the ASC which would recommend possible changes in order to avoid duplication and undue harassment to SSI enterprises.

The Minister said she was hopeful that a policy for theSSI sector would be in place within the next three months.

SSI TWO LAST

Raje said that the ministry would consider a proposal tohave seperate invesment limit of upto Rs. five crore for SSI units having export potential and those which needed high level of technology.

The ministry wants to provide single window clearancefacility and for this purpose was setting up common facility centres to provide a whole range of services to the SSI entreprenuers under a single roof.

On the reservation issue Raje said that dereservation wasnot a priority for her ministry and the focus was on providing credit to the SSI units and increasing investment in research and development.

The newly elected president of the FEII Ajay Poddar saidthe government shold create credit institutions devoted solely to the SSI sector.

"Industry chambers including the FEII need to redefinethemselves and increase coordination with ministries to address their problems," he said.

The government should consider clubbing of all similarSSI units under a bigger parental umberalla organisation so that production costs can be reduced and SSI units can get to develop a brand name, he said.