The Confederation of Indian Industry's Jharkhand state unit on Thursday organised the third edition of its annual flagship initiative, MSME Conclave.

The conclave on the theme "Breaking Barriers to Unlock Hidden Potential" was organised over a virtual platform.

The third MSME Conclave deliberated on government schemes for MSMEs and MSME financing, Start ups and challenges, opportunities and managing business in the prevailing difficult scenario.

Addressing the conclave, Tapas Sahu, vice- chairman, CII Jharkhand State Council and CEO of Highco Engineers Pvt Ltd stated that the MSME sector has the potential to spread industrial growth across the country and can be a major partner in the process of inclusive growth.

"The contribution of MSME is eight per cent of GDP, 45 per cent of manufacturing output and 40 per cent of exports of the country and uniquely they are least investment driven with high returns," he explained.

According to Sahu, the Covid-19 pandemic is taking a toll from a human and public health standpoint, along with causing massive business disruption, resulting in some businesses shutting down completely.

He pointed out that among all the sectors, MSMEs were badly hit during this difficult time and went on to explain that the current economic situation is not conducive to small industries as there is restricted liquidity in the system, though the government pumped in stimulus to keep the sector alive.

Addressing the online conclave, Ashok Saigal, co-chairman, CII National MSME Council and managing director, Frontier Technologies Pvt Ltd said that MSMEs are the backbone of India’s economy.

"However, for India to grow exponentially we need these MSMEs to mature into large firms in the decade to come. The pandemic situation has led to a substantial movement of the companies to the other developing and less developed countries which has triggered a new wave of industrialization.

Consequently, the expansion of the manufacturing hub linked with global supply chains would increase not only productivity but also create large-scale employment. The outbreak has provided India an opportunity to follow an export driven model where we have several capabilities already in place and several need to be built," he said.

Another speaker Ranjot Singh, vice- chairman, CII Jamshedpur Zonal Council said that MSMEs in the manufacturing sector alone produce more than 6,000 products and contribute 7.7 per cent of the GDP of the country.

"In spite of their contribution, MSMEs in India face several challenges. They often need to keep pace with rapidly changing technologies and face the risk of becoming technologically obsolete," he pointed out.

Among others who addressed the conclave included Dr S K Sahoo, joint director, department of industries, Jharkhand, Jyoti Prakash Gadia, co- chairman of CII National MSME Council and managing director, Resurgent India Ltd, R K Singh, assistant general manager, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and Suresh Narasimha, founding partner, Co Create Ventures.