Recognising the need to turnaround the Indian Textiles and Clothing Industry, FICCI today suggested a five year policy to revitalise and restructure Indian textiles industry. The Policy “Indian Textiles & Clothing Industry : 2015″ aims to neutralise the impact of economic crisis on Indian textiles industry; diversify our export and domestic market; encourage consolidation of SME enterprises; encourage maximum value addition in the country; deepening fibre consumption of India; building of 20 global brands of India; promote manufacturing of high-tech fibres and technical textiles; encouraging energy efficient and emission reduction technologies; increased indigenisation of textile equipments and increased technological support, FICCI said. The need for such a new policy arises in the wake of changing global economic scenario in which a number of countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey etc are giving fierce competition to Indian textiles and also to provide inherent strength to the industry, FICCI pointed-out. Also, some of these countries have introduced ambitious textiles policies last year only. FICCI said that there is a need to infuse confidence, through policy, in the industry which has suffered the most because of economic crisis and rupee appreciation in the past.

The policy, FICCI said, targets steady growth of 15% per annum of domestic textile industry and 20% per annum growth in our exports for the next five years in order to enable us to double our share in world textiles and clothing exports (Hence the name ‘20-15′ for the policy). FICCI noted that if we are able to achieve 20% growth in our textiles exports per annum and 15% growth per annum in domestic production then our domestic textile market size would be $ 106 billion by 2015 and exports would be around $ 66 billion. Given the long term growth of 7% in world trade in textiles, India’s share would be around 6.6% in 2015 at a growth of 20% per annum, which would be almost double of India’s current share of 3.4%. FICCI said that the Indian textiles sector’s growth has been lagging behind the growth of the manufacturing sector as a whole. In the last six years the average growth of the manufacturing sector was 8.3% whereas that of textiles sector was only 5.3%. During April-November 2009, while the manufacturing sector registered a growth of 7.7%, the textiles sector grew by only 5.8% (see table at the end of press release).

Elaborating the main components of “20-15 Policy”, FICCI said that the growth of garment sector, which has maximum scope for value addition, is today hampered because of number of constraints. FICCI noted that despite the fact that in India the total production cost of ring-spinning and knitting and weaving of ring yarn fabrics are the lowest in the world, India does not have a significant share in value added garments in global trade (only 3%). The suggested policy, according to FICCI, should focus on making India a manufacturing hub of value added garments and ensure that country is able to cultivate 20 internationally famous brands. The aim of the policy would be to achieve 15 to 20% share of these branded items in our exports in next five years, FICCI said.

On fibre consumption, FICCI said that there is need to deepen our fibre consumption which remains very low. Today, the average world per capita fibre consumption is around 10.8 kg and that of India is around 5 to 6 kg only. Whereas, FICCI noted that per capita fibre consumption in China is 14.6 kg, in North America it is 38 kg and in Thailand it is 19.8 kg. Within this, our per capita consumption of man-made fibre remains very low at around 2 kg compared to 12 kg in China and 11 kg in EU, FICCI observed. The policy should try to achieve higher fibre consumption by increasing domestic textile demand, expanding reach in rural areas and exploring new products, FICCI pointed-out. The target should be to at least double the fibre consumption in next five years.

Another main task of this policy would be to align the fibre consumption ratio (ratio of man-made fibre to natural fibre in consumption) of India, which is currently around 40:60, to the world norms (60:40), FICCI stated. Emphasising the need for this, FICCI said that globally market share of cotton decreased from 62.4% in 1960s to 39.5% in 2008. Most of the decline in consumption of cotton occurred in developing countries where the market share of cotton fell from 60% in early 1980s to 35% in 2008. However, in India the market share of cotton has come down from 69% in 1996 to 62% in 2008. FICCI said that in India this ratio is almost the reverse of the world ratio. Long term projections indicate that consumption of other fibres is projected to grow faster than cotton consumption and market share of cotton is expected to decline to 30.5% in 2020, FICCI observed. In this context, FICCI said that it is important to adjust our policies so as to increase the consumption of man-made fibres in the country.

Also, the policy should try to achieve maximum consolidation of small and medium enterprises in the textiles and garment sector so that country can reap the benefits of economies of scale in the global supply chain, FICCI emphasised. Currently, the domestic industry is dominated by small and medium enterprises and a number of them in the unorganised sector. Consolidation will help the industry in realising its true potential, FICCI said. Another important aspect of the policy would be to achieve greater energy efficiency and emission reduction in textile industry. For this, industry would require greater technological support to achieve lower emission and higher energy efficiency targets and to eliminate out dated technologies.

Further, FICCI said that the policy should also aim at indigenisation of high technology textile equipments. Currently, industry is dependent largely on imports of machinery and equipments. Government needs to provide technological support and enhance innovation efforts to encourage domestic production of equipments and machinery.

In order to neutralise the impact of economic crisis on textile sector, the policy should continue some of the policy measures provided so as to maintain steady growth of textiles sector in the long run, added FICCI.

FICCI ON STIMULUS PACKAGE & FISCAL MEASURES FOR TEXTILES INDUSTRY

Concerned over the fragile recovery in textiles sector and apprehensive of the impact of Rupee appreciation in 2010, FICCI has demanded continuation of Stimulus Package for textiles industry for the year 2010. FICCI said that India’s exports to US were lowest in the month of November in the year 2009. Retail sales of clothing & clothing accessories in US were $17.6 billion in October 2009, $17.5 billion in November 2009 and $17.4 billion in December 2009 indicating that demand for textiles and garment in US remain subdued. US accounts for around 25% of India’s textiles exports and is the largest destination of India’s textiles exports country-wise. In addition to other measures, FICCI wants that the Government should extend the interest subvention of 2% provided to textiles sector for another year beyond 31st March 2010 and the reduced excise duty of 8% (previously 10%) on textile machinery should also continue.

Besides continuation of stimulus measures, FICCI has sought extensive concessions from the Ministry of Finance for the captive generation of power by textile producers in view of the problems faced by industry due to erratic power supply. FICCI has submitted that excise duty on Liquid Fuels extensively used by textile manufacturing units for running their gensets for augmenting their power requirements, should be brought down from 14% to 4% and in addition service tax paid by textile units for erection and commissioning as well as on repairs and maintenance of wind mills may be treated as tax paid on “input services” under Cenvat Credit Rules and should be given credit for such service tax.

Further, FICCI has urged the Government to provide reduced rate of interest for Dollar credit at LIBOR plus 1% (currently, it is provided at LIBOR plus 3.5%); reduce Custom duty on Titanium Dioxide (TIO2) and Spin Finish oil from the 10% and 7.5% respectively to 5% as currently these items are being 100% imported and are proprietary items of technology and machinery suppliers; exemption of all export related services from payment of service taxes instead of refunds as is the practice currently; and working capital for purchase of cotton may be provided to mills at 7 percent interest rate, and against 10 percent margin money (currently at 25%) and for a period of 9 months (currently 3-4 months).

With regard to TUFS (Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme), FICCI said that technical textiles alone may require Rs 300 crore in the year 2010-11 under TUFS. So far only Rs 37 crore has been consumed under TUFS by the technical textiles sector. But given the interest shown by investors (both domestic and foreign) and keeping in mind the fact that demand for technical textile products is likely to grow fast (11% per annum) in the coming years adequate allocation under TUFS is required to facilitate investments in this sector. The Government should therefore, FICCI emphasised, provide for a total allocation of Rs 3300 crore for the year 2010 in addition to any amount that may have to be reserved for the North Eastern Region. Another Rs.2000 crore should be made for TUFS in the Revised Estimates for the current year (2009-10).

FICCI is also apprehensive of the impact of Rupee appreciation on textiles industry. Further monetary tightening by the Government in months to come could result in rupee appreciation thereby affecting the troubled sector further. Rupee has appreciated by over 7% since April 2009 and in the past textiles industry had suffered significantly due to Rupee appreciation, observed FICCI. In 2007-08 when Rupee appreciated steeply, the growth rate of textiles had come down from around 11% in 2006-07 to 6%, noted FICCI. Elaborating further on India’s textiles exports, FICCI pointed-out that during April- September 2009, India’s total textiles exports plunged by 14.7% compared to the same period last year. The US textiles and clothing imports from the world have fallen by 14.4% during January-November 2009 compared to the same period last year. Although, India’s textiles & clothing exports to US have fallen at a lower rate (11.7%) than the global textiles import of US, but the fall is steep when compared to Pakistan, China, Vietnam and Bangladesh whose textiles exports fell by 10.8%, 5.4%, 2.2% and 0.25% respectively during January-November 2009. In EU, FICCI noted that during January-July 2009 India’s textiles Exports to EU27 had fallen by 17.4%. Whereas, textiles exports of China and Pakistan to EU27 fell at a relatively lower rate of 10.8% and 9.2% respectively. During January-July 2009, clothing exports of India to EU27 grew by 8.1% but clothing exports of China increased by 12.3%, that of Sri Lanka increased by 12.4% and of Bangladesh increased by a whopping 18.4% during the same period.

FICCI observed that share of textiles sector in total exports of India has been falling since 2005-06. In 2005-06, textiles exports constituted 16.4% of India’s total exports but by 2008-09, the sector’s share has fallen down to 11% of India’s total exports. In such a scenario it would be premature to withdraw the stimulus measures and the forthcoming budget should not withdraw any export related and excise duty concessions given to textiles industry as a part of stimulus package of the Government, FICCI emphasised.

Source: http://www.ficci.com/PressRelease/552/Release-Textile.pdf

We are happy to inform the members that annual international conference of ICC is being held on 17 – 18 February 2010at Ball Room I & II, Taj Lands End, Bandstand, Bandra (West) Mumbai – 400 050. The conference is being held in cooperation with Chemical Week - a leading international magazine for chemical industry and with the support ofMinistry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Government of India and Chemical & Petrochemical Manufacturers Association(CPMA).

The focus of this year’s conference is “Growth & Sustainability in Chemical Industry – Post Recession”. International & national learned speakers, experts from the Government, academia and industry will participate in this two-day conference and will make presentations and interact with the delegates on topics such as :

• An update on the Indian chemical industry including feedstocks, petrochemicals, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals and more
• Outlook on mergers and acquisitions
• Responsible Care initiative in India
• Opportunities in the fine chemicals and pharmaceutical sector
• Sustainability initiatives in the chemical industry
• How the industry is addressing infrastructure and logistical challenges
• The status of R&D in the industry

We are sure deliberations in this conference will be very informative and beneficial to the delegates. We are giving you an advance notice to enable you to plan your schedule. Detailed circular on the subject is being issued shortly and we look forward to a very active support from the members.

Source: http://www.indianchemicalcouncil.com/news.php?action=read_news&news_id=50

Visit for Worldwide Importers Directory

The 2-Day Conference on “Advanced Technologies in Security Systems’ organised by theConfederation of Indian Industry (CII), Southern Region here today called for concrete steps to be taken through public-private model to address security related issues. Increased investments in R & D, expanding the security network both at the private and government level, besides adoption of advanced technologies were some of the key recommendations made by experts at the Conference.

Mr. R Sri Kumar, IPS (Retd), Chairman, CII-SR Task Force on Internal Security in his address said that CII has taken up as its agenda for the first time at the National level, the issues relating to Internal Security in the country. Under this initiative, in the Southern Region, a Regional Task Force on Internal Security has been formed to promote and advocate security management among corporates, Governments and the community in the Region.

He suggested that in the area of internal security the need of the hour is to focus more on R & D in security systems through Public-Private Partnerships and also the role of corporate in aiding Government in a seamless manner for all e-governance initiatives by the industries.

He further said that police reforms are being made to upgrade the security system in the country and urged businesses to invest in security as it is of utmost importance at the moment. Advanced technology is needed to have a sound security system in India as we are a large country and keeping a track of such a huge population is a big task, he added.

Mr. Rothin Bhattacharyya, Event Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, HCL Security Ltd in his theme address said that security is no longer about guns and guards a collaborative model has to be designed which should include advanced technology, good leadership and policing to counter threats.

Mr. Bhattacharyya said that the India needs respond to threats faster than in the past in order to reduce the impact due to terror attacks.

Brig J Anantharaman, Deputy Commandant & Chief Instructor, Officers Training Academy, Chennai in his special address said that an examination of contemporary security situation in India evokes a sense of mixed emotions. While the external threats both conventional and non conventional to include non State actors continue to pose a serious challenge, the internal threat with its multifarious manifestations and dimensions imparts a sense of insecurity to common citizens.

Mr. Anantharaman said that security systems and defence can very well respond to manmade and natural disasters and also can shoulder international responsibilities befitting the size stature and status of a State.

Cmde Rajeev Girotra, VSM, Naval Officer Incharge (Tamil Nadu) in his special mentioned about the challenges in safeguarding our maritime resources as India has a coastline of more than 7000 kms. The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) spread over 2 million sq kms in the Indian Ocean has got each country the exclusive right over exploitation and use of marine resources and hence providing security to this vast area for safe shipping and protection of our offshore assets is not a small task, he pointed out.

Mr. A Hemachandran, IPS, Inspector General of Police, Kerala in his special address urged to bring in new system of policing supported by advanced security systems in order to prevent terror plots, especially designed beyond borders. Preparedness to handle attacks and respond quickly to threats is something that has to happen urgently, he added.

Source: http://www.cii.in/PressreleasesDetail.aspx?id=2633&gid=N&SectorID=&regionid=&conid=&nrid=&StateID=

Visit for Worldwide Importers Directory

STARBUCKS , the worlds largest retailer of coffee, has revived its plans for India and begun talks with the Shyam and Hari-Bhartia controlled Jubilant Group for a possible alliance, two persons familiar with the development said. Jubilant Foodworks, part of the Delhi-based Jubilant group, is the Indian franchisee for Dominos, the pizza chain. The groups flagship company is Jubilant Organosys, a leading contract manufacturer of pharmaceutical products.

A spokesperson for Jubilant Foodworks declined comment. However, a person close to the group said the company regularly spoke to foreign majors seeking to enter India’s food and beverages sector and Starbucks was among them.

FI
B stalled Starbucks entry earlier

JUBILANT is regularly in discussions with several companies, including Starbucks. This person said talks with the US-based coffee retailer were at an early stage. Starbucks didn’t respond to an email query at the time this article was being written.

Starbucks, famous for making coffee-drinking fashionable in the US, had tried to enter India by striking an alliance with Kishore Biyanis Future group three years ago but these plans were rejected by the Foreign Investment romotion Board or FI B, the government body which regulates inflow of foreign money into India’s factories, shops and mines. Organised coffee retailing is a niche but growing segment in India. Industry officials said the size of the segment, which is dominated by unlisted companies, is around Rs 500 to Rs 600 crore.

The major players in India include two franchisees of overseas coffee retailers. These are Italian chain Lavazza-owned Barista which bought a controlling stake in the coffee retailer from C Sivasankaran, the Chennai-based entrepreneur, and UK-based Costa Coffee for which RJ Corp owned by
epsi bottler Ravi Jaipuria is the exclusive licensee.

India allows foreign investors to own 51% in single-brand retail which would encompass coffee chains such as Barista. Lavazzas exact equity holding in Barista is not in the public domain. Cafe Coffee Day owned by entrepreneur VG Siddhartha, which has E firms among its shareholders, is another major player in this segment. These chains have been thriving on rising demand from India’s increasing upwardly mobile middle class and youth for whom hanging around in a coffee shop is still aspirational. Starbucks attempts to enter India have been stymied because of what many say is a lack of transparency in roles governing foreign direct investment in retail. About four years ago, the coffee retailers application to the FI
B was rejected due to lack of clarity on the foreign shareholding structure of the proposed Indian venture.

New Horizons, a 51:49 JV between Starbucks Indonesian franchisee V Sharma and Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani, was to be the licensee for Starbucks operations in India. New Horizons was to set up operate and manage Starbucks stores in India. But the alliance never saw the light of the day after the Indian government asked Starbucks to amend its application twice.

Seemingly irked by this, Starbucks withdrew its proposal and decided against coming to India, at least for some time.

For the year 2010, Starbucks financial and operational targets include mid-single digit revenue growth and about 300 new stores, it has announced on its website. It plans to set up 100 new stores in the US and approximately 200 new stores in international markets.

Source: http://www.indiacoffee.org/newsview.php?newsid=56

The RBI’s Third Quarter Review of Monetary Policy 2009-10 is disappointing. The industry was expecting a positive direction in Policy from RBI for reduction in interest rates. However, the Repo Rate and Reverse Repo Rate and Bank Rates have been left untouched.

The RBI has increased Cash Reserve Ration (CRR) by 75 basis points from 5.0 percent to 5.75 percent in two stages. The first stage of increase of 50 basis points from 13th February 2010 and the second stage of increase of 25 basis points from 27th February 2010, which will remove about Rs.36,000 crore from the system which will result in a credit squeeze.

It may be recalled that the interest rates did not come down when the inflation rates went down in the last one year. It is surprising to note that RBI has chosen to tighten the norms due to expected higher inflation which will be mainly due to a lower base of last year.

Our Chamber has already written to Hon’ble Union Finance Minister that the Stimulus Package should be continued for one more year. We also expect the RBI to support the industry which is slowly coming up from the recession so that the recovery will be faster, by working towards liquidity at easier terms.

Source: http://www.indianchamber.in/pr_10_rbi_3rd_review_of_monetary_policy.html

Visit for Worldwide Importers Directory

Indian Merchants’ Chamber has welcomed the RBI’s new credit & monetary policy stance, which is broadly in line with the Chamber’s expectations. The RBI has hiked the CRR rate from the existing level of 5% to 5.75%, but refrained from raising the key policy rates.

In a press statement issued here today, IMC President Mr Gul Kripalani said that the banks had enough liquidity and elbowroom to comply with the new CRR rate, which was being enforced in two phases, i.e., 0.5% from February 13 and a further 0.25% from February 27, together sucking out about Rs.36,000 crores from the banking system.

Mr Kripalani said that the RBI also wisely refrained from raising the policy rates at this critical juncture of managing growth recovery, which could have caused setback to industrial growth, especially when the growth rate of the farm sector had sunk to near-zero.

He shared the RBI’s concern at rising inflation, which is likely to be 8.5% by March – end 2010, as against 6.5% projected earlier. He endorsed the policy of RBI that it would have to shift its stance from ‘managing the crisis’ so far to ‘managing the recovery.’

“The RBI’s statement that inflation spiral could be reined in only after July 2010 leaves little room for comfort,” he said.

Source: https://www.imcnet.org/aboutIMC_news.asp?newsid=391

Visit for Worldwide Importers Directory

NEW DELHI, January 29, 2010. Responding to the RBI move to raise CRR rates, FICCI feels that it signals a further tightening of the monetary policy regime. FICCI feels that the tipping point has not yet arrived for tightening of the monetary policy and if one proceeds in that direction hastily, economic growth is bound to take a hit. This, in turn, will effect employment generation that is critical at this juncture, said Mr. Harsh Pati Singhania, President, FICCI.

Further, FICCI states that SMEs are still borrowing at around 13%, exports have contracted by nearly 20% during October 2008 and October 2009 and imports are down by 21% during the same period. Also, and several segments of the economy have still not come on stream and will need continued support to fend for themselves.

Therefore, FICCI feels that it is still premature to signal a tightening of the monetary policy and has cautioned that if this is complemented with fiscal tightening, the results would be disastrous.

FICCI has stated that it is in the last quarter of the year which sees maximum increase in Non-Food Credit. Further, with the improvement in the investment scenario and demand, the non-food credit requirement may actually accelerate. FICCI hopes that lack of liquidity in such a scenario should not impact the availability of credit at right cost.

The third quarter review of the monetary policy reflects the central bank’s confidence in the state of the economy, as it raises the GDP projection to 7.5% for 2009-10 with an upward bias from 6% projected in the last quarter, FICCI has pointed out.

Source: http://www.ficci.com/PressRelease/550/Monetary.pdf

Visit for Worldwide Importers Directory

Commenting on the third quarterly review of monetary policy by the Reserve Bank of India, Shri A Sakthivel, President, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said that hike in the cash reserve ratio by 75 basis pointraising it from 5% to 5.75% is higher than what the industry and exporters expected.Shri Sakthivel added that banks should absorb the hike without increasing the interest rates which otherwise will impact the economic growth.Interest rates in India, said FIEO President,are much above the international benchmark for any MSME exporters and increase in prime lending rate consequent to hike in CRR, if it happens, will give a jolt to exports which have turned positive from last two months as growth in advance economy will remain sluggish due to higher employment levels, increase in fiscal deficit and continued credit crunch.

Source: http://fieo.org/view_Press_Releases_detail.php?lang=0&id=0,21&dcd=485&did=1264754634e2dpjgceuijhds0nebec3cvjq7

Visit for Worldwide Importers Directory

The Franchising Association of India (FAI), the apex body representing the interests of the franchising community led a Franchise Trade Mission of Indian entrepreneurs and businessmen to the United States of America on April 11, 2008 along with the US Commercial Services, India. The 25-member Trade Delegation attended the International Franchise Expo 2008 (IFE’08) organised by the MFV Expo and sponsored by International Franchise Association at Washington DC from April 11 to 13, 2008.
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India PRwire/ — At the Expo, FAI held a Panel Discussion on “Franchising in India”. The panel was focused towards encouraging US franchisors to consider expansion in India. The attendees were given previous issues of Franchising Focus, an FAI publication as well as useful information for franchising in India. The panel was moderated by Mr. Sunil Dewan a senior franchise professional, Mr. Lakshmi Narayanan of REBI, Mr. Dave Koch of Plave Koch, Ms. Smita Joshi of the USCS and Mr. Rajeev Manchanda of Franchising Association of India concluded the discussion by mentioning that while India does not have any franchise law, it has an astute franchise legislation.

Mr. Dewan kick-started the discussions by saying that while most Americans would discuss the weather in general when they meet, in contrast to Indians that prefer to talk business. 30-50% of the 600 million Indians are the target audience for most international brands. Thus, needless to say, India has to be on the radar of every international expansion initiative. He also pointed out that there are 200 million potential customers in India as compared to 65 million in China. Mr. Dave Koch informed the audience that India is a better market than China because Indians have a more formal approach towards commercial matters. Mr. Rajeev Manchanda said that India is a very diverse country and it is very important to provide support to the Franchisee. He also mentioned that McDonalds had a customized food recipe for Indians and thus it is very important to adapt your product offering to suit the consumers taste buds. He also stated that inspite of all the hurdles related to infrastructure in India, Dominos’ Pizza still manages to deliver pizzas in 30 minutes!

Ms Smita Joshi pointed out that due diligence of your master franchise partner is a must for a successful partnership. The US Commercial Services (USCS) has 7 offices across India. Its very important to conduct market research and reference checks while entering a new market place like India. International Franchisors could consider appointing regional licensees / franchisees to facilitate it.

Mr. Lakshmi Narayan, who is a real estate expert pointed out that getting good locations in India continues to be a challenge. While the infrastructure is poor, Indians are loyal and smart employees.

The Panel Discussion ended with an encouraging note and there were several interest that was generated amongst the participants, who were mainly Foreign Nationals. Franchising Association of India had also taken up a booth to assist NRIs take up Indian franchise opportunities. The FAI booth at the expo too drew a lot of crowd and it managed to portray India as the most promising destination for Franchising business.

Franchising Association of India founded in 2000 is headed by leading industry professionals, Mr. C. Y. Pal and Mr. Pramod Khera.Notes to Editor

The Franchising Association of India is a Membership Organisation of Franchisors, Franchisees, Vendors, Consultants, Financial Institutions and Students and others. Our services are dedicated to provide a one-stop shopping experience for franchising business and with membership of the prestigious World Franchise Council we have ongoing access to knowledge of the World accepted best practice related to Franchising in different areas of business activity as also networking contacts with the WFC member Franchising Associations in different parts of the world for generating new business opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs.

In recognition of the increasing role of franchising in the market place and the very beneficial positive contributions of franchising to the Indian economy, the franchisor and franchisee members of the FAI believe that franchising must reflect the highest principles and standards of fair business practices.

Source: http://www.fai.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79:gfais-franchise-trade-mission-to-the-united-states&catid=53:press-releases&Itemid=77

Visit for Worldwide Importers Directory

We wish to inform you that MSME associations and Business Membership Organizations (BMOs) are being increasingly partnered for design and implementation of MSME support programmes. A number of such MSME support schemes have been announced after 1991 by different Union Ministries, Government of India wherein Associations are expected to play a lead role. Whereas there has been some resistance in public policy set up towards such partnerships, evident from unrealistic conditions imposed in many of these schemes, the Associations themselves have not been fully geared up for taking up the new role. A Study commissioned by GTZ ( German Technical Cooperation)- under SME F&D Project, highlights some of these findings. A first of its kind, the study provides: a. Mapping of all MSME Support Schemes envisaging lead role by Associations (42 schemes) b. Detailed analysis of major public schemes (supply side) and the associations (demand side) c. Model steps for effective design and implementation of schemes and an institutional framework for Capacity Building of MSME associations In this regard, FISME has requested us for suggestions. Members are therefore requested to send us your comments / suggestions at the earliest.

Source: http://www.aiaiindia.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NEWSID=43

Visit for Worldwide Importers Directory