The 8th Meeting of the National Board for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (NBMSME) was held at New Delhi on 22-12-10 under the Chairmanship of Shri Dinsha Patel, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. The meeting discussed various issues of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Sector with particular focus on "Micro and Small Enterprises-Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP): Achievements and Prospects". 

Shri Dinsha Patel, in his opening remarks, reassured the commitment of Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises in addressing various issues concerning the sector. He expressed his satisfaction over the progress achieved on various schemes operated by the Ministry .He also elaborated the significance of Micro and Small Enterprises - Cluster Development Programme (MSME-CDP), which was the major agenda of the meeting. 

The National Board for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises was set up as per the provisions of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006, replacing the non-statutory body Small Scale Industries Board to advise the Government on all policy matters relating to the development of MSME sector, by giving representation to various Associations of manufacturing and service enterprises, women enterprises, trade unions, States representing different regions of the country, Central Ministries and Financial Institutions, keeping in view of the national objective of inclusive and broad based growth. 

The discussion were on various issues like introduction of IT tools for the development of this sector, establishing multi-purpose clusters, avalibility of raw material,credit,etc, 

Shri. Uday Kumar Varma, Secretary (MSME), during his concluding remarks, exuded optimism about the future of the sector. He also assured time-bound action on the issues raised during the meeting. 

Shri. Manavendra Mukherjee, Hon. Minister for Micro,Small Scale Enterprises, Textile and Tourism, Govt. of West Bengal, Shri. Hansraj Ahir, Hon'ble Member of Parliament, representatives from various MSME Associations, Trade Unions, Financial Institutions, various State Governments, Academics, Ministries/Departments of Govt. of India also participated in the meeting.  National Board for MSME under MSMED Act prioritises cluster development and mandates time bound action on sectoral issues The Board's statutory advisory role under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development framework replaces the former non statutory body, with membership spanning industry associations, women enterprises, trade unions, States, Central Ministries and financial institutions; its eighth meeting prioritized the Micro and Small Enterprises-Cluster Development Programme and operational issues such as IT adoption, multi purpose clusters, raw material availability and access to credit, and the Ministry committed to time bound action on raised issues.