Tamil Nadu Government is creating a land bank of around 1,500 acres to help micro, small and medium size enterprises (MSME) set up their units in districts, according to K. Dhanavel, Secretary, MSME Department, Government of Tamil Nadu.
The State Industrial Promotional Corporation of Tamil Nadu has a huge land base, and of this nearly 20 per cent will be allocated to MSMEs, which is the backbone of the State, he said at STICON 2013, a State- level convention of small and micro industries organised by the Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association.
Dhanavel said the department has taken up an Rs 50-crore project to revamp district industrial centres with focus on capacity building.
In Tamil Nadu, there are 8.51 lakh MSMEs providing employment to around 59 lakh people, next only to the agriculture sector. Revenue generated by the MSMEs was Rs 48,000 crore and contributed nearly 10 per cent to the State’s Gross Domestic Product.
S. Sivagnanam, Additional Industries Advisor, MSME-Development Institute, for small units getting credit is a major issue. A survey says that 92.77 per cent of use their own capital, 5.18 per cent get credit from institutions and 2.05 per cent from non-institutions. The sector will be in deep trouble if this trend continues, he added. He urged MSMEs to take advantage of the Public Procurement Policy, which stipulates that the Government should procure 20 per cent of its requirement from them.
The major problem with the sector is lack of financial management and diversion of funds. Most entrepreneurs do not know how to manage their accounts and don’t know what’s happening in the industry, he said.