| SMEs have been playing a dominant role in most
of the economies - developed and developing - in shaping their
industrial destiny and path of economic growth. So vital is the
small business that few, if any, parts of the global economy
could go on without its product and services. Innovation has
been the unique and biggest strength of SMEs the world over. If
we trace the genesis of a number of modern products, we find
that it's origin lies in the small and medium sector. The SME
sector all around the world has been serving as a 'nursery' for
nurturing the entrepreneurial talent coupled with higher levels
of employment generation and industrial development. In the
Indian context, a small-scale industry, commonly called as the
SSI, is defined in terms of value of investment in plant and
machinery, whereas in a majority of the countries of the world,
the sector is called as SME. The Small & Medium Enterprises (SME) sector is one of the
fastest growing industrial sectors all over the world. Many
countries of the world have established a SME Development Agency
(SMEDA) as the nodal agency to coordinate and oversee all
Government interventions in respect of the development of this
sector. In the case of India, though a separate medium sector is
not defined, the Office of Development Commissioner (Small Scale
Industries) also known as Small Industries Development
Organisation (SIDO) functions as the nodal Development Agency
for small industries. SIDO functions under the Ministry of SSI
(Ministry of Small Scale Industries). |
