Tamil Nadu

25 units to be approved by BHEL as vendors

TIRUCHI: BHEL, Tiruchi, has granted in-principle approval to register as vendors 25 engineering units initiated by Women Entrepreneurs’ Association of Tamil Nadu (WEAT), for outsourcing fabrication jobs, it is learnt.

Each unit will be run on a partnership basis by three to four women. Prospective entrepreneurs have already undergone training programmes for taking up welding, shearing and cutting jobs.

Earlier this year, they underwent training in welding at National Institute of Technology – Tiruchi.

The latest training they took up was the six-week Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Programme sponsored by the MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) Development Institute, Government of India.

They learnt the various nuances of running an engineering unit at G.K. and Sons over the past few months, and the BHEL has also assured to train them through its HR Department before they launch their units.

The participants of the training programmes are in a state of preparedness, having registered the partnerships for starting the engineering units and opened current accounts in the Canara Bank, the funding agency.

They have also obtained SSI certification from the District Industries’ Centre.

The WEAT, floated by the Centre for Women’s Studies, Bharathidasan University, is currently into the process of enabling the new entrepreneurs to fulfil the agreement norms of the BHEL.

The process is likely to take a month’s time, WEAT president Rani Muralidharan said, adding that each unit will be started on a minimum of 4,000 square feet of leased space.

The Women Entrepreneurs’ Association of Tamil Nadu which will handle materials collection and transport for the new units will provide hand-holding support to the women entrepreneurs for about a year to help them gather momentum in their operations.

With the BHEL on an expansion mode, orders for the new units are assured.

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