Industries and IT Secretary Jayesh Ranjan speaking at the Defence and Space Conclave of CII Telangana in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Telangana government is also set to unveil on September 18 its policy for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“The Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, and Industries Minister will be launching the dedicated policy for MSMEs,” Industries and IT Secretary Jayesh Ranjan told a Defence and Space Conclave of CII Telangana on Wednesday (September 11).
One of the highlights of the policy would be a ₹100-crore fund to facilitate technology upgradation of defence and aerospace MSMEs, he said, adding Telangana possibly would be the first State to provide such an assistance. “Don’t think any other State in the country is giving money to [defence and aerospace MSMEs to] improve their technology, they are giving incentives and [concession in] power tariff and GST levy,” the senior official said.
Mr. Ranjan said at least 60% to 70% users of the proposed MSME policy were expected to be from the defence and allied sectors.
Defence manufacturing in Hyderabad began over six decades ago and with time emerged as one of the strong points. The State government was keen to build on the manufacturing legacy and pursuing a multi-pronged strategy focused on infrastructure development – setting up of exclusive defence and aerospace parks; creating a skilled workforce, with the recently announced Young India Skills Initiative a crucial step in that direction; extending incentives to companies setting up new projects; and promoting innovation in defence.
The Centre had also decided to establish a full-fledged iDEX in Hyderabad that aimed at creating an ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in defence and aerospace through engagement with multi-stakeholders such as industries, including MSMEs and start-ups.
A policy exclusively for MSMEs had been in the offing for some months in Telangana. It found a mention in the then Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan’s address to the joint sitting of the Legislature in February. Since there were several units in the MSME category and their challenges were different from large-scale industrial units, the State government would come up with an MSME policy to assist them access technology, recruiting skilled manpower, finance, improved market access and prevent industrial sickness.
Land on lease
Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu recently said the State government would consider providing land on lease instead of outright sale to women entrepreneurs under the MSME policy.
According to Invest Telangana website, Telangana is home to about 2.6 million MSMEs. Of them 56% are in rural areas and 44% in urban centres. Since the formation of the State in 2014, nearly 20,000 registered MSME units have commenced operations with an investment of about ₹31,023 crore.
Published – September 12, 2024 07:51 am IST