On May 21, 2020 Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh participates in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs) E-conclave, “Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) MSME Conclave 2020“, jointly organised by SIDM, Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) and Department of Defence Production. The Theme of the E-conclave is ‘Business Continuity for MSMEs in Defence & Aerospace Sector’ in which more than 800 Defence MSMEs participated.
Statements made by Rajnath Singh
i.SIDM has accelerated the manufacturing of DRDO[Defence Research and Development Organisation] designed PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) kits, masks, and ventilator parts in the field of defence industry by efficient coordination and channelization.
ii.There are more than 8,000 MSMEs of the defence organisations partnered with Ordnance Factories, Defence Public Sector Undertakings(DPSUs) and Service Companies, where more than 20% of the total production of these organisations are contributed by defence.
iii.To tackle the challenges due to lockdown, the Ministry of Defence(MoD) has taken several steps for industries & MSMEs, such as extension of response dates of Request For Information (RFI) or Request For Proposal(RFP)and early clearance of pending payments among others.
iii.Has assured that the ‘Aatma Nirbhar Bharat’(self-reliant) campaign, inspired by Prime Minister(PM) Narendra Modi will provide many opportunities to Indian industry and will help to restore millions of jobs as per PM’s call for being ‘vocal for local’.
iv.Advised MSMEs to make India(swadeshi) ‘Aatma Nirbhar’ in defence technology and products & called to make ‘Local’ Focal in daily lives to achieve self-reliance.
v.MSMEs have a very important role in the goal of indigenous manufacturing, and in the goal of self-reliant India.
Measures mentioned by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman under the ‘Aatma Nirbhar Bharat’ scheme
- Collateral free loan of 3 lakh crores for MSMEs, this will be effective in re-establishing about 45 lakh units and saving employment
- To help stressed MSMEs subordinate debt provision of Rs 20,000 crore has been announced for 2 lakh MSMEs
- Equity infusion of Rs 50,000 crore will be provided through ‘Mother-Daughter Fund’ for the purpose of benefiting the needy MSMEs
- Rs 10,000 crore ‘Fund of Funds’ will be set up to help increase the capacity of these units and for marketing.
Key Points
i.The definition of MSME has been revised, so that MSMEs can be expanded & there will be no distinction between manufacturing and services sector MSMEs.
ii.In government contracts (procurements) of Rs 200 crores or less, global tenders will not be allowed, which will help MSMEs to grow their business.
iii.E-market linkages will be ensured if the MSME’s are unable to participate in trade fairs due to COVID-19. Government and PSUs will also ensure the clearance of all outstanding payments in the next 45 days.
Participants
Secretary (Defence Production)- Raj Kumar, President of SIDM- Jayant D Patil, former president of SIDM- Baba N Kalyani, Director General of CII- Chandrajit Banerjee, senior civil and military officials of MoD, Ordnance Factory Board and DPSUs
About CII:
Corporate Office– New Delhi, India
President– Vikram S. Kirloskar
Static:
Constituency of Nirmala Sitharaman– Rajya Sabha (Karnataka)
Headquarters of SIDM– New Delhi, India
