MSMEs in Jammu and Kashmir: MSME lender Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has signed an agreement with the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) for SIDBI Cluster Development Fund (SCDF) to accelerate MSME cluster infrastructure development in the region. The partnership will enable modernization/upgradation or establishment of infrastructure or development of MSME cluster-related infrastructure in J&K.
SCDF was announced by SIDBI in August 2021 with the Reserve Bank of India’s support to attend to the hard infrastructure facilities in clusters. The SCDF scheme provides moderately priced loans to state governments for upgrading various existing MSME Clusters and also for the creation of new industrial infrastructure in states.
“We are poised to be an ever-strong and vibrant MSME ecosystem in the country and more so in Jammu and Kashmir. To further strengthen the infrastructure gap, SIDBI joining hands with state government and union territories and transforming both hard and soft infrastructure shall be the mainstay of such collaborations. This structured support will lend impetus to the culture of enterprise development in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” said Sivasubramanian Ramann, Chairman and Managing Director, SIDBI.
In J&K, SCDF would facilitate augmenting the low-cost, longer repayment funds for holistic coverage of cluster development projects falling under three broad categories, SIDBI said. These included, first, industrial and agri-allied sectors in the MSME eco-space, second, social sector projects in and around MSME clusters and third, connectivity to MSME clusters.
While SIDBI will facilitate the availability of SCDF to enhance infrastructure development of both greenfield (induced clusters) and brownfield clusters, the finance department, the UT of J&K would act as a nodal agency to coordinate and submit the proposals to be considered under SCDF.
“This partnership with SIDBI shall lead to many innovative infrastructure improvement and development in the UT and in the overall growth of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Jammu & Kashmir. It will be an endeavour to build processes and systems with the support of SIDBI to utilize SCDF by key departments supporting MSMEs like Industries and Commerce, Tourism, Power and Skill Development etc,” said Santosh D Vaidya, IAS, Principal Secretary to Govt., Finance Department, Jammu & Kashmir.