Private equity (PE) investments in microfinance institutions (MFIs), which fell by 12 per cent last year (2009), have recovered this year.

Private Equity funds step up investments in MFIs

Business Standard

We have an export oriented unit (EOU). We want to import some capital goods on lease from the supplier.

'EOUs can't lease capital goods from suppliers'

This finding is the result of a survey of 200 MSMEs (42 micro, 114 small and 44 medium enterprises) from all over India, primarily from the cities of Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur, Surat, Rajkot and Bangalore. The survey was conducted through a questionnaire and on-field discussions and interviews with MSMEs.

Poor infrastructure a big hurdle to MSME growth

Upbeat trends in markets the world over seem to have percolated into the Indian information technology (IT) sector &mdash; and especially into the small and medium segment.

Tide of downturn ebbs for smaller IT players

In a bid to tap emerging occupations such as imitation jewellery and beauty salons in regions such as Rajkot, Jamnagar and Surat, the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CED) here is setting up a self-employment training centre.

Training by design in Gujarat

Faces competition from multinationals and low demand in the domestic market.

TN matchbox industry to focus on exports

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face the challenge of extracting the latent value of their intellectual property (IP) and using it effectively in their business strategies. Taking cognisance of the problem, the Punjab State Council for Science &amp; Technology (PSCST) has identified 18 micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) clusters across the state for creating IP rights-related awareness.

Punjab to create IPR awareness in 18 clusters

The growth centre for SMEs at Siggadi in the Kotdwar area of Pauri district in Uttarakhand has got a facelift, with the government strengthening infrastructure facilities in the centre.

Kotdwar growth centre gets a facelift

The Tamil Nadu government has proposed a target of Rs 100 crore as subsidies to be disbursed among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and also decided to make services companies eligible for them. According to a state government representative, MSMEs&rsquo; lack of awareness is a big challenge for the state government.

TN small units get a big boost

When the VAT law provides for refund and the documents specified in the relevant rules are submitted, refund should not be denied. The officers sanctioning the refund must be satisfied on the basis of documents submitted alone and should grant the refund.

'If papers in order, SEZ can't be denied VAT refund'

Winds of change are blowing through India&rsquo;s micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector. First, capital market regulator Sebi has notified guidelines for trading on the SME platform, which will enable easier listing by SMEs; second, the Federation of Indian Micro and Small &amp; Medium Enterprises (Fisme) has begun work on a bankruptcy law that will supersede the current archaic and dysfunctional insolvency mechanism for MSMEs; and third, Fisme is also working on a competition framework for MSMEs, which is intended to help these enterprises leverage the new Competition Commission of India dispensation to their advantage.

Winds of change are blowing

Punjab&rsquo;s textile industry, the largest employer in the state after agriculture, is still financially troubled, while other industry clusters are celebrating the start of a revival after the downturn.

Spinning trouble

In order to make India a global hub of excellence in cross-disciplinary higher education as well as in industrial research and development through industry-academia collaborations, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and all the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) recently formed the CII-IIT Council. The council comprises directors of the 13 IITs and key industry captains of CII&rsquo;s National Council, and aims to make India a global hub of technical education.

Innovation mission

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has urged micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to tap the capital markets to raise funds, since they can be an alternative to traditional banking finance. The banking regulator has also said that, as on date, the entry norms are high for MSMEs to enter the capital market, but the SME trading platform, norms for which have been notified by the capital market regulator, would address the issue.

MSMEs need to tap the capital markets

Large IT companies are betting big on small and medium business (SMB). This trend developed during the downturn, when tech firms found that SMBs&rsquo; IT spending was robust despite the slowdown. IBM, Dell, Microsoft and TCS are some of the big companies that are quite enthused about the segment for future growth.

IT majors bet big on SMB segment

Hyderabad, until now India&rsquo;s bulk drugs capital, is finding it difficult to retain the crown, with production capacities having remained almost static for some time.

Bulk drug industry hits a plateau

Until last year, Karnataka was home to nearly 600,000 small-scale units (of which 350,000 are registered), nearly 75 per cent of them located in and around Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Belgaum, Hubli and Shimoga.

OEM orders for Karnataka SMEs dry up

Gujarat and Chennai are emerging as favoured destinations for auto parts units due to issues like octroi and electricity problems in Maharashtra. In the wake of the boom in car sales, almost 85 per cent of large- and medium-sized auto- component manufacturers are back to their original production schedules, though the situation remains grim for micro and small enterprises, especially in Maharashtra.

Auto parts units shift base

When envisioned in 1999, the foundry park off Ranihati in Howrah was supposed to bring to the state investments worth Rs 2,000 crore and create employment for 30,000. A decade later, the park&rsquo;s launch is still tentative.

Foundry park on hold

Entrepreneurs in Coimbatore, a traditional town of closely-held family managed companies, popularly known as the Manchester of south India, are now more open to the idea of entering into equity collaboration with domestic and international partners.

Open sesame

Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are feeling the heat of competition in the domestic market from rising Chinese imports.

SMEs face the heat from cheap Chinese imports

SME: Find all the latest news on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in India. Explore more for the top headlines about SME sector on Business Standard.

Page 82 - SME