Bengal Invites Firms To Harness MSME Strength For Defence Manufacturing

The MSME sector can play a pivotal role in boosting productions for the defence sector in the coming days, a senior state government official said here on Saturday and urged companies to pitch for MSME units in West Bengal.

Speaking at the Defence MSME Manufacturing Forum meeting, organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here, the Principal Secretary, Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Textiles Rajesh Pandey, said there are 90 lakh MSMEs in the state.

"We call upon you all to make a strong pitch for Bengal. There are 90 lakh MSME units in the state. West Bengal boasts one of the largest leather parks in the country. While a Rubber Park is coming up, several industrial parks are already in the state," he said.

Ninety-nine per cent of MSME sectors are micro units, and the sector can play a pivotal role in giving a boost to productions for the defence sector in the coming days, he said.

"The Ministry of Defence took a policy decision that the MSME sector would participate in the defence sector in a big way, including start-ups, and this has given the state's MSME sector a huge opportunity to manufacture a wide range of defence products, including specialised equipment and participate in research and development activities," he said.

Pandey invited across-the-table interactions between state officials, those seeking to invest in the defence sector and experts in the field to gauge what they want from the government could be of help - incentives and infrastructure facilities.

"We need to know the project proposals and in what way they can be of use," he said.

He said the state has emphasised new projects and commissioning of projects, and a high-powered committee sits every 15 days to monitor the projects.

Senior officials from GRSE, Bharat Dynamics Ltd, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Aerospace Engineers Pvt Ltd, and Titagarh Wagons were present at the discussion, among others.

business