The first meeting of Working Group on “Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Growth “ for the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017) was held here today under the Chairmanship of Secretary MSME, Shri. Uday Kumar Varma.

A number of sub-groups on vital areas of MSME growth like Credit and Institutional Finance, Skill Development, Technology & Innovation, Marketing & Procurement, Infrastructure, KVIC, Coir Board, Special Packages & Groups and Emerging Technology etc. were formed.

The members of the Working Group which represented the Government Departments, State Departments, Industrial Associations and Financial Institutions attended the meeting. They also suggested that sub-groups may be formed on Informal Sector, Environment Sustainability etc.

The terms of Reference of the Working Group would be as under:

1. Taking the report of PM’s Task Force on MSME sector, as the basis, to evaluate the progress of the sector in terms of overall growth, potential for job creation and as a vehicle for innovation.

2. To review the implementation of measures recommended by the PM’s Task Force and other schemes of the sector and suggest corrective measures, if any.

3. To articulate the problems of small & micro enterprises in the unorganized sector and suggest measures for improving their productivity, quality of products, easy access to credit, technology up-gradation/adoption etc.

4. To specify the milestone to be achieved within the12th Plan period.

5. To suggest/recommend programmes/schemes those are to be terminated in the11th Plan or initiated or continued in the12th Plan period, together with the broad budgetary implications, if any.

6. To make any other recommendations as may be appropriate for sustained growth and competitiveness of the sector.

7. The Working Group would submit the report by 30th August, 2011.

Working Group on MSME growth to assess task force recommendations and chart programme, credit, technology and skill priorities. A Working Group on Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises for the Twelfth Five Year Plan is tasked to assess sectoral growth using the Prime Minister's Task Force report as baseline, review implementation of prior recommendations and schemes, identify problems in the unorganised sector affecting productivity, quality, credit access and technology adoption, and to recommend milestones, programme continuations or terminations and broad budgetary implications, supported by thematic sub groups on finance, skills, technology, marketing, infrastructure and related areas.