Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Textiles stated that large companies must take responsibility for assisting MSMEs in adopting best practices and integrating them into the supply chain ecosystem.
MSMEs, according to Goyal, thrive around a larger unit or anchor. He cited an example, stating that as Apple’s manufacturing plant is built, thousands of MSME units thrive in the ecosystem as mini value chain suppliers to Apple. He also stated that MSMEs have more practical solutions, and day-to-day experiences, and are able to adapt to circumstances better than large corporations because they have learned the hard way. He stated that large corporations must be versed in how to support MSMEs. We must also try to make it easier for small businesses to operate by eliminating unnecessary paperwork, simplifying custom processes, and utilising technology to ease and simplify processes.
He noted that Singapore has played an important role as a trading hub and suggested that a study be conducted to determine what Singapore is doing right and, based on this, a basic framework for supporting MSMEs be developed. It could include infrastructure development and logistics challenges, he added. He also stated that MSMEs bring trust to the table, which he believes is the most important component of any value chain, domestic or international.
On integrating India into global value chains, Goyal stated that if we do not harmonise our value chains with the rest of the world, or if we do not create logistics that are easier and faster, international companies will find it difficult to integrate India into their value chains. According to Goyal, the government is also focusing on creating an enabling ecosystem that is simpler and faster and promotes ease of doing business in order to become a trusted and resilient partner in global value chains. He stated that the government’s priority is to convince our country that quality is a critical factor in India’s success story. He emphasized that setting global benchmarks, harmonizing Indian standards with global standards, and consumers becoming more demanding of quality are essential for India to become a global key player.
On the India-UAE CEPA agreement, Goyal said that MSMEs of both countries will be the biggest beneficiaries of this agreement. Both countries are engaging with each other and exploring opportunities to meet each other’s needs. He said India is in dialogue with some of the larger companies in the UAE to leverage the best out of CEPA.
