Kerala - Kochi   

`Invisibility' syndrome of small enterprises

Staff Reporter

Kochi: Small enterprises, by their very size, do not get the advantage of the visibility enjoyed by their larger counterparts. The report on the state of development of small and medium enterprises in India by the Institute of Small Enterprises and Development calls this the "invisibility" syndrome as it takes a tour of the world of SMEs in India.

The status report is an eye-opener on the new trends among SMEs development and the role they play in the overall economic growth of the country. Despite suffering such invisibility, they contribute significantly to the national economy.

The status report points out that while the number of exporting Small Scale Industrial units (SSIs) in the registered sector is 7,344, in the unregistered category there are 43,262 units contributing a whopping 14,19,956 lakhs to the total volume of exports from the country.

However, small-scale units all over the world do not enjoy political and financial clout that are virtually taken for granted by their larger counterparts. But they need to be made visible considering their vital role. It is here that the report calls for organised and strong advocacy for the SMEs. The way advocacy is practised and the impact it has on the growth of SMEs vary from country to country. There are instruments of advocacy for SMEs in the U.S., U.K. and the Netherlands.

In India, on the other hand, the lack of a clear definition of the role of SMEs in the economic development of the country has led SMEs to be virtually ignored and they lack a strong and organised advocacy.

The small business membership organisations, professional organisations and lobby organisations have been able to do in bits for making smaller enterprises better heard and better seen. The emergence of professional agencies like NGOs, of late, too has come to the aid of the SMEs.

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