Date:01/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/11/01/stories/2006110103650500.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

SMEs seek separate technology park

Staff Reporter

Rs. 40,000 cr. of Rs. 100,000 cr. generated by IT sector is from SMEs

State Government earmarks Rs. 25 crore for SSIs

Bangalore: The implementation of the SME Act will enhance the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has said.

Inaugurating a session on `How SMEs can succeed' here on Tuesday, he said that under the new Industrial Policy of the State Government, Rs. 25 crore had been set aside for small-scale industries (SSIs), and the impetus of the policy was to reduce regional imbalances in the State.

Mr. Yediyurappa's comments came in reply to Vivek Kulkarni, Chairman and CEO, Brickworks India, who raised the issues impeding the SMEs. Mr. Kulkarni said even though Rs. 40,000 crore of the Rs. 100,000 crore generated by the information technology sector was from SMEs, they faced some problems.

Mr. Kulkarni asked the State Government for a building on the lines of the ITPL exclusively for the SMEs and to bring all SMEs together. A Global Training Institute based on a public-private partnership was proposed.

On the role which big companies can play along with SMEs, Shankar Annaswamy, CEO, IBM India, said: "The SMEs play a big role in an industry worth a trillion dollars. SMEs can really behave like big companies because of technology. You must invest in it. The globalised economy offers tremendous opportunities for innovation and technical capability."