Small and medium sector enterprises (SMEs) in Orissa are coming face-to-face with big and mega industries proposing to set up projects in the state. Expo-Orissa 2007, a five-day national industrial fair, to be held from November 2, is bringing them on a single platform for mutual benefits.
The SMEs would showcase their products and capabilities to big and mega industries, who, on their part, would select prospective vendors for their project, says Niranjan Mohanty, president, Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industries (UCCI), an apex body of industries and trade.
Notwithstanding that big and mega industries have lined up investments of Rs 4 lakh crore in Orissa, SMEs in the state have been at a loss about how to take advantage of industrialisation. Unable to find a synergy in the industrialisation process, SMEs have been struggling for survival. More than two-thirds of units in the SME sector are either sick or on the brink of closure.
The third census of small enterprises has corroborated this phenomenon indicating that 41% of industries in Orissa had become sick on account of inadequate market arrangement. ??In the absence of government patronisation, marketing avenue and credit inflow, SMEs are finding it difficult to remain in business??, says Mohanty. According to him, the expo will open up avenues for SMEs.
The Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Institute (MSMEDI), in association with the state industries department, the National Small Industries Corporation and Khadi & Village Industries Corporation, is hosting the expo in Bhubaneswar, in which over 250 enterprises are likely to participate.
The UCCI, on its part, is proposing to set up an engineering cluster which will have a tie-up with big and mega industries. Units in this cluster at Jagatpur in Cuttack district would customise their products to support the big and mega projects in the state.