Saurabh Gupta | 11 Jun, 2009
To enhance the global competitiveness of Micro & Small Enterprises (MSEs) the government provides a financial assistance of 75 percent to MSEs for using global standard in Bar Coding.

"The office of the Development Commissioner (MSME) Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises provides financial assistance to MSEs for motivating and encouraging them to use global standards in bar coding," AS & DC (MSME), Madhav Lal told SME Times.

When asked, who can avail this scheme, he said, "The MSEs having entrepreneur memorandum acknowledgment number from the Directorate of Industries/ District Industries Centers and having registration with GS1 India (formerly EAN India) for bar coding may apply in the prescribed form to the MSME Development Institutes (MSME-DIs) of their respective region for availing the assistance."

Bar Coding is a series of parallel vertical lines (bars and space), that can be read by bar code scanners. It is used worldwide as part of product packages, as price tags, carton labels, on invoices even in credit card bills and when it is read by scanners. A wealth of data is made available at the users and when use with GS1.UCC (Global India one Numbering Uniform Code Council Inc. USA) numbering system.

The bar code become unique and universal and can be recognized anywhere in the world. Bar coding is an international concept today. It facilitates unique product identification through using international symbologies/ numbering system, promotes brand image and would enable timely and accurate capture of product information.

This would result in wide ranging benefits including lowering of inventory costs, lower overall supply chain costs and hence reduced costs for Indian products, increasing efficiency of Indian industry and adherence to stringent quality assurance norms through product traceability.

"For Micro and Small manufacturing enterprises which have resource constraints but need to compete for global and domestic business opportunities with larger adoption of IT tools to enhance their efficiency and productivity, market accessibility and cost effectiveness is a business imperative today," said DC MSME.

Recognizing the importance of bar coding the DC (MSME) office has recently notified an attractive financial assistance scheme for registered Micro and Small manufacturing enterprise for adoption of international numbering systems in bar coding and E-commerce applications w.e.f. January 1, 2002.

As per the scheme Micro and Small manufacturing enterprises, who have adopted bar code on or after January 1, 2002 are now eligible to get the financial assistance 75% (up to Rs.18,750) of the one time registration fee paid to GS1 India.

Further, it was also decided that SSI/ tiny units who got registered for bar coding during the previous year i.e. on or after January 1, 2001 will also be eligible for reimbursement of 75% of their one time registration fee.

The scope of the present scheme has been enhanced w.e.f. June 1, 2007. Accordingly, it has been decided that 75% (Rs. 3750) of the annual fee (recurring) for GS1 company prefix by GS1 India for adoption of bar code certification for the first three years would also be reimbursed to Micro and Small entrepreneurs, in addition to reimbursement of one time registration fee as charged by GS1.

To obtain financial assistance on bar code certification, Small and Micro manufacturing enterprises may send their applications to the Dy. Director (MA) office of the Development Commissioner (MSME) Room No-734, 7th floor Nirman Bhawan New Delhi-110011, with Form VI and Annexure I, II, IIIA,IIIB, & IV:

The detailed of scheme with the relevant registration forms are available in the websites: www.smallindustryindia.com or www.laghu-udyog.com or www.dcmsme.gov.in and also at GS1 India's website www.gs1india.org.