Women entrepreneurs need support from Telangana govt

As a first step towards supporting growth of MSMEs in Telangana, a State-level MSME advisory board headed by the CM with various institutions and banks as members should be constituted, to address grievances of the enterprises - Rama Devi Kanneganti, president, Aleap

Hyderabad: With the new Congress government taking reins in Telangana, women entrepreneurs of the State are of the opinion that a State-level MSME advisory board and timely release of subsidies earmarked for MSMEs run by women entrepreneurs would support businesses financially.

Speaking to Bizz Buzz, Founder and president of Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of India (Aleap), Rama Devi Kanneganti, said, “There are schemes from the government of India like the PMEGP which provides 30 per cent upfront subsidy and stand-up India scheme that provides women entrepreneurs access to credit. Further, PSUs have been mandated to procure 25 per cent of their purchases from MSMEs. Of 25 per cent, PSUs are required to procure 3 per cent from women entrepreneurs. However, such special incentives from the State government do not exist.” As a first step towards supporting growth of MSMEs in the State, Kanneganti advised constitution of a State-level MSME advisory board headed by the Chief Minister with various institutions and banks as members, to address grievances of the enterprises.

Kanneganti listed out policies, on the lines of the schemes facilitated by the Centre, for the State government to mull on, which includes, upfront subsidy to be released for new industries, special policy intervention to nurture sick units, market support for labour intensive industry by providing purchase preference, and a special scheme for women to upgrade them from self help to SMEs. She also stressed on including skill training as a part of the industrial policy to enable availability of skilled man power, along with upgrading the present ITIs to enhance skills.

“My opinion is that an integrated support is required from the State government, specifically for MSMEs owned by women entrepreneurs. Besides the above mentioned schemes, the support also includes cost effective infrastructure for industries in the form of clusters. If the State government contributes matching grant, the cluster approach will be a success. Some of the MSME-focused clusters that can be developed include biodegradable cluster, artisan cluster, hand printing, lab diamonds and millet-based agri clusters,” she added.