New Delhi, Mar 27 (KNN) In a critical assessment of India’s economic landscape, NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam highlighted significant challenges facing the country’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), emphasising the sector’s pivotal role in national economic transformation.
Speaking at a recent Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event, Subrahmanyam expressed concern about the structural limitations in India’s enterprise ecosystem.
The nation currently hosts approximately 6.18 crore MSMEs, comprising 6.09 crore micro, 7.44 lakh small, and 70,000 medium enterprises.
However, the critical challenge lies in the limited number of medium-sized firms capable of scaling into large corporations.
The NITI Aayog CEO identified three primary obstacles confronting the MSME sector: regulatory complexity, technological upgradation, and workforce skilling.
Unlike large corporations with robust compliance teams, small businesses often struggle under bureaucratic requirements.
The government is actively working to address these challenges through deregulation efforts targeting land, electricity, and water-related regulations.
Technological adoption emerges as another crucial concern. With 95 percent of mobile manufacturing components still imported, Subrahmanyam stressed the urgent need to develop a robust domestic manufacturing ecosystem.
The limited capacity of MSMEs to invest in research and development and provide extensive employee training further compounds these challenges.
The initiative Dx-EDGE, a public-private-academia partnership, represents an innovative approach to addressing these systemic issues.
By connecting local universities and colleges with entrepreneurs, the program aims to provide targeted mentorship and technological support to MSMEs.
Subrahmanyam emphasised that MSMEs are not just economic units but critical employment generators. Unlike automated large corporations, these enterprises create opportunities for millions of workers across diverse economic segments.
He argued that without substantial investment in MSME growth, India’s aspiration to become a developed economy remains fundamentally unattainable.
Looking ahead, the NITI Aayog CEO highlighted the transformative potential of medium enterprises. As India projects itself to become the third-largest economy by 2027-28, these businesses will be instrumental in driving manufacturing standards and global competitiveness.
In his concluding remarks, Subrahmanyam underscored a holistic vision for economic development, asserting that investments in education, skills, and MSME sector growth are paramount to realising India’s ambitious goal of becoming a USD 50 trillion economy.
(KNN Bureau)
