New Delhi: The MSME ministry is working on a `Procurement Policy` for the sector, which would set targets for the government departments and institutions to source their requirement from the tiny and small units, a top official on Tuesday said.
"We are trying to work out a new purchase policy for
procurement of MSME products by the government and trying to
convince major buyers like the defence and the railways of the
need to adhere to such a step," Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises Secretary Dinesh Rai said at a Ficci function.
Currently, the procurement policy is in the form of an
order issued by the ministry that lists 358 items, which PSUs
have to purchase only from the MSME sector.
On the lines of the purchase policy prevalent in the US,
the ministry plans to come out with a policy that is likely to
fix a certain percentage that government departments would
have to buy from MSMEs, he said.
The global slump in demand has impacted MSME sectors like
textiles and leather, which depend heavily on exports.
The sector, which employs about 42 million people,
accounts for 45 per cent of the country`s industrial output
and about 40 per cent of exports.
Rai further said that the ministry is planning to set up
an information centre for MSMEs. Entrepreneurs can seek
information from the centre regarding the sector.
Bureau Report
