• Delivering the Welcome Remarks at the Inaugural Session of the Conclave Mr Prateek Garg, Vice Chairman, CII Western UP Zonal Council said that The MSME sector in India has reached an inflection point mandating a new roadmap driven by technology and innovation for them to scale up and achieve a higher growth trajectory.

• Mr Jyoti Prakash Gadia, Managing Director, Resurgent India said that in India risk capital is lacking and we use debt capital which lead to imbalance.

• Mr Yogesh Dixit, Senior Director, SME Rating, Crisil Ltd spoke on how credit ratings will help MSMEs to access loan at less rates.

• Speaking at the Inaugural Session of the Conclave, Mr V S Hedaoo, General Manager, SIDBI informed the members on the various schemes of SIDBI and requested members to avail of the schemes.

• Mr Mayank Gupta, past chairman, CII Western UP Zonal Coucil, was the session chairman for this session. He spoke on the need for Innovative Financing for MSMEs.

• Mr L N Sachdeva, SIDBI spoke on the need for cost management and elaborated on the various financing schemes available with SIDBI.

• Mr Ajay Thakur, CEO- SME Segment, BSE Ltd said that “SME Exchange provide the SMEs with equity financing opportunities in growing their business from equipments to acquisition.

• Mr Yogesh Dixit, Senior Director, SME Rating, Crisil Ltd spoke on how higher creditworthiness helps in accessing funds from various sources like Banks, NBFCs, Private Equity Funds, Venture Capitalists, large customers etc.

• Mr Jiten Surtani, Director, IIFL spoke on the need for the MSMEs to consider Debt and Equity as an option keeping their present financial view.

• Mr Prateek Garg, Vice Chairman, CII Western UP Zonal Council, was the session chairman for this session. He emphasized that Technology and competitiveness is the main drivers for the growth of MSMEs. He also said that SMEs need to be equipped and supported to avail the emerging business opportunities and face challenges in the changing world trade rules, faster technological developments including ICT, international competitiveness, new business models and stricter quality and environment requirements, etc.

• Mr Yogesh Kochhar, Director – Strategic Engagements, Microsoft Corporation India Pvt Ltd, spoke on how cloud services can be useful for exports and assist buyers to keep track on the development of their order.

• Mr. Gulshan Kharbanda, Chief Technology Officer, Progressive Infotech India Ltd, highlighted the advantages of technology and spoke on how cloud computing can help in reducing operating cost.

• Mr R Narayan, CEO, Power2SME, BEBB India Pvt. Ltd spoke on their online platform that enables the SMEs to cut costs and build efficiencies in their business processes, thus allowing them to compete on an equal footing with large enterprises.

• Mr Vinod Sharma, Chairman, CII ICTE Manufacturing Committee & Managing Director, Deki Electronics Ltd., spoke on the issue facing by MSME sector while accessing the new markets. He has also said that market access is a key area for the growth of MSME sector. Over the years, global outsourcing has opened new markets for Indian MSME manufacturing firms.

• Mr Sanjay Beswal, Director, Andees Consulting, shared his presentation on the prevailing taxes applicable while exports. He has also suggested that how MSME
• can use the benefits related to Foreign trade Policy.

• Mr Rajiv Chawla, CMD, Jairaj Group has shared the case study of “Iamsme” and spoke on the various dimensions of work they do to enhance the competitiveness of MSMEs.

• Mr Sudip Mallik, Adviser, NIESBUD shared his views on how MSME should keep check on matters related to exports to the new country. He also spoke about creating a demand for products by sending quality samples to prospective buyers, attending international fairs/exhibitions, packaging and branding – Moving from polybags with stickers to Printed Tetrapacks with Brandnames, quality testing standards and certification, especially for Organic products and timely delivery.

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector has been recognized as engine of growth all over the world. The MSME sector plays a very significant role in terms of balanced and inclusive growth and contributes to the process of economic development, equitable distribution of national income and regional dispersal of enterprises by way of mobilization of capital and entrepreneurial skills.

Despite an elaborate and dynamic policy framework, the progress of Indian MSMEs continues to be hindered by some of the basic constraints as poor credit availability, low levels of technology & innovation.

Against the above background, CII Western Uttar Pradesh Zone organised an MSME Conclave on 18th October at Agra. The Conclave deliberate on various

issues impacting MSMEs growth and also provides a platform to collaborate, network and explore opportunities to enhance growth.

The conference focused on:

· Financial Planning & Risk management to stay competitive

· Leveraging Technology for Growth

· Business Challenges for MSMEs