From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Feb 16: Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA) will be made as a partner institute in the skill development scheme to provide financial assistance, Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Virbhadra Singh said on Thursday.
Inaugurating the KASSIA School of Business Management at KASSIA Udyog Bhavan in Bangalore, he said: “I am directing my development commissioner (MSME) Amarendra Sinha to make KASSIA as a partner institute in the skill development scheme to provide financial assistance to KASSIA in this noble venture.”
''I have already written to the Finance Minister for providing an enabling framework for equity formation,” he announced.
Keeping in mind the increasing number of youth joining the job market in the coming years, he said the ministry has set a target of training 1.5 crore candidates by 2022 and more than 40 lakh during the 12th five year plan.
“There is a need to equip the youth with skills and knowledge for giving them access to productive development,” Singh said.
Unveiling a slew of initiatives taken by his Ministry for the development of MSME sector like public procurement policy for SMEs, which mandated 20% reservation for SMEs in all procurements by Government departments and PSUs in addition to a special quota of 4 % earmarked for SC/STs; target of training 1.5 crore persons within 2022 and more than 40 lakh persons during the 12th Five-Year Plan.
He said the ministry would give free training to SC/STs, women and physically challenged persons along with monthly stipend of Rs 500 per trainee; provision for 15 % capital subsidy on institutional loans upto Rs 1 crore availed by MSMEs under the Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS); providing guarantee cover upto 85 % on collateral-free credit facility extended by lending institutions to new and existing SMEs for loans up to Rs 1 crore.
Singh, who recently completed 50 years of serving Parliament as a MP, also bemoaned the ''Aya Ram Gaya Ram’’ culture in politics which was the bane of modern India.
KASSIA President Prakash N Raikar described the scheme as a first of its kind initiative for empowering the MSMEs in the country.
kassia.com to be launched by February-end
The KASSIA School of Business Management, started jointly with ICBMS Educational Trust and Info Career Pvt Ltd would offer Certificate, short-term and long-term courses on soft skills and other skills specifically required by prospective and existing entrepreneurs in multiple languages including English and Kannada and also incorporate e-learning practices.
The faculty included eminent professionals from IIT, IIM, Harvard and other leading institutions.
KASSIA is coming up with several initiatives for the small scale industry, such as the launch of a dedicated B2B cum Employment Exchange portal called kassia.com by the end of this month. The website would aim at listing at least 5,000 small scale industrial units in the next one year.
The KASSIA Credit Cooperative Society would shortly expand its outreach and function as a micro finance organization.
KASSIA had invested Rs 12-crore in the last 5 years towards infrastructure building and the setting up of a state-of-art world class Industrial Campus at KASSIA Udyog Bhavan.
KASSIA had not availed of any funding from the Central Government for this purpose, Raikar said and requested the MSME Minister to release at least Rs 1 crore from the Ministry.
He also appealed to the Minister to consider enhancing the limit under CLCSS Scheme to Rs 2 crore from Rs 1 crore and the subsidy limit from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.
Releasing the Brochure of KSBM, R K Mathur, IAS, Secretary of MSME, observed that it was an initiative worth emulating by other Industry Associations in the country. Amarendra Sinha, IAS, Additional Secretary & Development Commissioner, MSME, A Chandrasekaran, Dean, ICBMS, H P Kumar, C&MD, NSIC, participated in the programme.