Technology can help MSMEs, says Minister

In saying digitalisation and advanced technologies can enhance the stability and resilience of small businesses, the Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane urged MSMEs to seriously look at technology for growth. Small businesses can be more resilient through digitalization, resulting in a greater level of resilience. For businesses, this means having the flexibility to adapt to changes and continue their operations, and digital technologies can serve as a tool for businesses in building their resilience capacity, the minister said, while speaking exclusively to ET Online on International MSME Day. MSME Day 2023 marks the 6th anniversary of this resolution by the General Assembly. The minister said MSMEs are the foundation of India's economy and can play an essential role in India achieving its ambitions of a developed nation by 2047. The minister emphasised the vital contribution of such businesses to our daily life, stressing the importance of small businesses in every aspect of our lives. Every product in our lives has seen some contribution of the other from an MSME. Small businesses have an outsized impact on our lives, he said. Devering on the topic chosen by ET Rise this year for MSME Day Future-ready MSMEs for India 100 Rane, she said it syncs up with the vision of the government in good measure. Narendra Modi's government has been instrumental in enhancing MSMEs' access to financing, information infrastructures, and international markets. We have been dedicated to providing regulatory, legal and financial frameworks that foster entrepreneurship and small firms as well as startups. MSMEs have taken steps to enhance exports. These include efforts made under the Make in India programme, promote of Ease of Doing Business, improved availability of credit through MUDRA and Stand up India. Rane said MSMEs stand to gain substantial benefits by adopting e-commerce, adding that the emergence of online markets through e-commerce has had a positive impact on MSMEs in recent years. Small businesses can benefit from opportunities like increased revenue and margins, access to fresh markets, decreased marketing spending, customer acquisition, and improved customer experience. The ministry of MSME is committed to providing requisite support to MSMEs and aspiring entrepreneurs in the strengthening of the Indian economy and towards the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, he said. The minister added that digital technology is a great leveller. Advancement of digital technology and development of digital service models offer small businesses increased accessibility to business tools, he said. The ability of SMEs to adapt their activities during a crisis can enable them to compete with larger enterprises in terms of capacity and quality. Small firms also need to improve their management skills, the capacity to gather information and their technology base, he said. In his remarks, the minister highlighted how the India story is finding enthusiasm everywhere and the role that MSMEs can play to leverage such sentiments. MSMEs can play a crucial role in taking this story forward, and we have onboarded various steps to make that vision a reality. We are ensuring that the sector receives an unhindered credit flow from financial institutions, technology support for development and modernisation, access to export markets, infrastructure facility, training and capacity building facility and the welfare of the workforce, he said. Reiterating that India's 63 million MSMEs were integral in taking India forward in its economic growth and journey, the minister said that their journey towards excellence must continue. On this International MSME Day, I want to extend my good wishes to all MSMEs and encourage them to carry on with the resilience they have demonstrated in the most turbulent times. MSMEs are growth accelerators contributing significantly to GDP, and need to be strengthened, he said. The minister emphasized the importance of innovation in maintaining such momentum, stressing that tech-based acceleration must be central to their ethos. It is time that we show our strengths as a nation to the world, and the MSME sector is wellpositioned to do that at this juncture.