'Needs a multipronged approach to boost productivity of MSMEs'

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Saurabh Gupta | 04 Aug, 2015
To boost the productivity of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) there is a need to involve several different aspects or elements, Union Minister for MSME Kalraj Mishra said on Monday.

"There is a need for developing a multipronged approach to improve productivity of the MSME sector through innovative means, as this sector has the greatest potential for making rapid strides on the path of distributive justice," the minister said this at the National Productivity and Innovation Awards function in New Delhi

He said that the resultant broad based and balanced growth of the economy would help in providing economically worth-while occupations to the unemployed and under-employed youth and would also ensure a more equitable distribution of purchasing power.

To boost the manufacturing and to recognize outstanding achievements & innovation of the organization, the National Productivity and Innovation Awards were given away by Kalraj Mishra.

Congratulating all the award winners the Minister said that these Awards will act as a morale booster and catalyst for the MSME units to strive hard to achieve even higher levels of productivity and innovation and to become active partners in the Make in India campaign of the Government.

The methodology adopted by NPC has been devised in such a way to induce the spirit of competitive excellence among these sectors. The idea is to stimulate all MSME units to try and win these prestigious national awards in the coming years.

Mishra expressed hope that through the improved productivity and innovation demonstrated by the award winners the scheme will motivate others to follow the path of excellence and to make India the global manufacturing hub. It is important to reiterate that productivity & innovation are the main pillar of success for any economic venture in the globalised world he added.

Minister for MSME said that Production facilities and skilled work force are the two critical factors for the growth of MSME sector. Since India has one of the lowest labour productivity levels in the world, any improvement of labour productivity depends on increase in production facility (technology), innovation in production process and increase in output. Innovation literally means, 'introducing something new'. Innovation in manufacturing covers wide areas like introduction of new processes/practices, new technology/equipment, new materials, etc he added.

Underling the importance of innovations, he said with limited resources at our command, increased wealth creation is possible only through innovation. Our products need to become increasingly cost competitive and affordable to common people. The quality of our industrial products must also improve so that they are competitively attractive both in domestic as well as international markets.

The minister said that we have to aim at improving not only the productivity and quality of our industrial goods but also of our entrepreneurial talent through innovations. Only then we could translate our strength of human capital dividends into an effective mode of socio economic development and for all round productivity.

Productivity and Innovation activities of MSMEs need to embrace a holistic approach. In any productivity improvement programme it is essential that standards for measuring productivity are laid down and are understood by all concerned. In our socio-economic and political system the importance of productivity has been appreciated but very little has been done to make it a part of our national ethos to inculcate innovation in the manufacturing process.

Appreciating the National Productivity Council the Minister said that NCP for the last over five & half decades of its existence, through its sustained efforts, has managed to generate productivity consciousness within the country and also bringing in the right approach to the applications of productivity techniques. "I hope the Council will continue to sustain their efforts in the coming years as well and, more and more MSME sectors will be felicitated in the coming years by recognizing their contributions," he added.

Present on the occasion were Dr. Anup K. Pujari, Secretary MSME, Amitabh Kant, Secretary DIPP; Harbhajan Singh, DG NPC and other senior officer/officials of the Ministry.

This year 33 institutions from 6 MSME sectors received awardees in different category based on their performance on productivity enhancement and innovation. The MSME sectors selected for the awards are Sport Goods Industry, Toy Industry, Leather Products sector, Textiles & Garments Industry, Computer & Electronic Hardware sector and Light Electrical Sector.