State level workshop on digital micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) organised by common services centres (CSC) E-governance services India Limited Nagaland was held at AMK hall Kohima on Friday.
In his welcome address, SPM, CSC E-governance services India Limited Lanusosang Jamir said that CSCs were the access points for delivery of essential public utility services, social welfare schemes, healthcare, financial, education and agricultural services apart from host of business to customer (B2C) services to citizens in rural and remote areas of the country. He informed that it enables the government’s mandate of a socially, financially and digitally inclusive society and informed that in Nagaland, one of the recent projects of CSC in large scale was 7th economic census and it has enumerated 4,57,854 households and have completed enumeration of nine districts.
He advised that to start an enterprise one needs skills and knowledge to do business where government also provides entrepreneurship development programmes and entrepreneurship trainings and also for raw materials, technical support the government schemes like murda loans in which CSCs can assist the entrepreneur.
In her presentation on government scheme for facilitation of MSME sector, executive engineer department of industries and commerce, Asenla Walling said that Nagaland trade, investment and industrial policy helps create a business friendly environment with simplified procedures and improved infrastructures to encourage innovative entrepreneurial skills while fostering competitive industrial growth and investment, thereby creating employment opportunities and enhancing the State’s economic status, resulting in better living standards.
She highlighted the policy objective which includes building, strengthening and facilitating a sound industrial eco-system in the state whereby rapid, sustained development and growth of commerce and industry to encourage growth of entrepreneurs and investment generate employment and reduce poverty, regional economic disparities and improve the economy of the State. She also highlighted the thrust areas, package of assistance and incentives schemes, schemes under DC (MSME), entrepreneurship skill development (ESDP), promotion of MSMEs in NE region and Sikkim, state start policy, Nagaland state food processing industries policy, indentified food processing areas, policy interventions and incentives and others.
On ushering a new era of digital MSME, director in-charge, MSME, DI Dimapur Nagaland, Taliwati Longchar said that the national manufacturing competitiveness programme in 2005 was the nodal programme of the government of India to develop global competitiveness among Indian MSMEs. He highlighted the challenges faced by Indian MSMEs which include access to technology, IPR related issues, designed as market driver, wasteful usage of resources/manpower, energy in-efficiency and associated high cost, low ICT usage, low market penetration and quality assurance/certification.
Longchar said that the objective of the scheme were focussed on increasing competitiveness of MSME sector, key initiative for survival of MSMEs in domestic/international markets, a catalyst approach/create role models and implementation with public private partnership.
He also highlighted the challenges for implementation, a supply side initiative, fear of MSMEs in disclosing data and that MSMEs were hesitant in investing their contribution while dwelling on the ten components of manufacturing competitiveness programme (NMCP).
Other speakers of the programme were assistant manager CSC E-governance services India Limited Alem Sangtam on “e-management/ERP for MSME”, deputy manager SBI main branch Kohima Imtitoshi Imsong on “introduction to banking system and utilisation of banking services MSME units”, assistant vice president HDFC Bank on “digital MSME scheme, CSC and HDFC bank joint initiative”.
The workshop was attended by representatives from Kohima Chamber of Commerce (KCCI), banks, department of labour, department of industries and commerce, department of information and technology, department of employment and skill development and others.