BIAL pitches for encouraging business environment

City-based MSME body Bombay Industries Association (BIAL) has pitched for policies that address the regulatory hurdles besides promoting a conducive business environment, among others.

The 75-year-old forum, which represents over 1,400 members comprising MSMEs and large-scale enterprises, also claimed that the segments’ contribution in the country’s economy has seen a drop after the 2019 pandemic. “We will advocate for policies that promote a conducive business environment, addressing regulatory hurdles and supporting fair competition,” BIA President Hitesh Shetty said at the Association’s 75th anniversary celebrations, held here late Monday evening. He said that BIA will continue engaging with government bodies to take up the issues concerning the SMEs and foster a favourable ecosystem for entrepreneurship in the domestic market. He said that the MSME sector is considered just not the backbone of the domestic economy but is also the largest employment generator.

“We are all coming out of the biggest disruption in the form of the Covid pandemic which hit our sector the hardest. Our contribution to the GDP has actually gone down post the pandemic from the heights of 32-33 per cent in 2019-2020,” he said. Nevertheless, there is a massive push from both the central and state governments to extend all help possible to sustain this sector as it is a key employment generator, he added. Addressing the Association members, Founder and Chairman of Allcargo Group Shashi Kiran Shetty said that the MSME sector will play a crucial role (in the economy) with estimates indicating sectors’ contribution accounting for 33 per cent in the country’s GDP. “Since Mumbai and Pune account for almost 41 per cent of the MSME’s registered in Maharashtra, the scope for growth, especially in a business hub like Mumbai is immense,” he said.