India
Plans SME Helpline
The
toll-free helpline will assist SMEs in day-to-day operations,
finance, marketing, legal, banking and taxation domains.
The Government
of India plans to launch a toll-free helpline for Small and Medium
Businesses (SMBs), which would offer assistance on issues like
taxation, finance, laws, marketing and other relevant topics. This
was disclosed by Dinesh Rai, Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Government of India, at a conference on
ICT for SMEs, organised by the Internet and Mobile Association of
India (IAMAI) and IndiaMART.com on 10 July 2009.
Reiterating the Government's
commitment to SMEs, Rai said, "The toll-free helpline is part
of our 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 Skill and Development Centre
(NSDC) to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem in India.
Highlighting the plight of SMEs, Dinesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO,
IndiaMART.com, appealed to the Government to minimise redtapism,
encourage single-window clearance mechanisms, rationalise 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. "If SMEs are not provided
with timely help, we will run the risk of a fall in exports and a
resultant fall in GDP," said Agarwal.
Painting a bullish picture about India's future, Gurmukh Singh,
Head, Business Marketing, Intel, South Asia, exhorted the SME sector
to be ready when exponential growth in India's online universe
throws up big possibilities. "By 2012, India will get 511
million Internet users and small businesses should be ready for it.
Intel is already offering solutions and assistance which SMEs can
make use of even today," Singh said.
Rajiv Sodhi, Director, Emerging geographies, Microsoft India,
educated the audience on the power of ICT for innovation and
acceleration of business in time of recession. Speaking on the
much-publicised 'Project Vikas', Sodhi reiterated Microsoft's
commitment to help SMEs, by offering tailor-made software solutions
to aid in operations, maximising revenues and creating relationships
with customers and partners.
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