Indian Government created two ministries to promote and develop small scale industries:
1. Ministry of Small Scale Industries. Ministry of Small Scale Industries designs policies, programmes and schemes to promote small scale industries. Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO) is responsible for implementing and monitoring of various policies and progammes formulated by the ministry.
2. Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries is a nodal agency for coordination and development of village and khadi industries, tiny and micro enterprises in urban as well as rural areas. Its policies are implemented through Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Handicrafts Board, Coir Board etc.
The small-scale sector has played a major role in employment generation, regional development and export promotion in India. The Government of India has realized that a lot more can be achieved if the two major bottlenecks that affect the further development of —inadequate funds and inefficient market penetration—are removed. In pursuit of this objective, the government has established the following agencies.
- National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD): It was established in 1982 with the main objective of promoting rural development and integrating the efforts in this direction. This agency is an apex banking body that governs the operations particularly of the rural and ‘Gramm’ banks. The main focus of NABARD is to provide cheap and easy credit facility to small, cottage and rural industries.
- Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI): It was set up to provide direct and indirect financial assistance under different schemes. It caters to the credit and finance requirements of small-scale enterprises.
- World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (WASME): It is an international non-governmental organisation that addresses the problems of small and medium-scale enterprises. It has set up an ‘International Committee for Rural Industrialisation’ with the aim of designing a model for the growth and development of rural industries.
- The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS): It was formed in September 2004 with the objective of improving the efficiency and enhancing the global competitiveness of small scale industries. It focuses on addressing the problems faced by small enterprises, particularly in the unorganised/informal sector.
- Various Development and Employment Generation Programmes: Besides establishing the organisations mentioned above, the government has launched various programmes for rural development. Among the important programmes are the Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojana (PMRY), Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) and Training of Rural Youth for Self-Employment (TRYSEM). These programmes are aimed at generating greater employment opportunities, developing rural areas and making the rural people self-reliant.
