A toll-free helpline for SMEs is in the pipeline as disclosed by Dinesh Rai, Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Dinesh was speaking at a conference on Information, Communication and Technology for SMEs, organized by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IndiaMART.com. The toll-free helpline would offer assistance on various areas like taxation, finance, laws, marketing and other relevant topics. As articulated by Mr. Rai, the toll-free helpline is part of their resolve to assist SMEs in day-to-day operations, finance, marketing,, legal, banking and taxation domains. Rai also underlined a plan to run a National Skills and Development Centre (NSDC) to create a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem in India. Speaking at the conference, Dinesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO of IndiaMART.com, appealed to the government to minimize redtapism, encourage single-window clearance mechanisms, rationalize tax regimes and adopt a proactive strategy aimed at education and evangelism for SMEs. He also lamented the issue of technology providers trying to push highly-priced products and solutions to SMEs, which are beyond their budgets.