Kerala - Kochi   

Developing micro enterprises in villages

Kochi: Developing micro enterprises for a robust village economy and the innovative use of appropriate technology for the purpose were among the presentations at the first working session at the ongoing 7th Commonwealth-India Small Business Competitiveness Development Programme here.

Satyan Mishra, Managing Director of Drishtee.com who made the presentation, said that Drishtee effort was to create local entrepreneurs to offer services needed at the village-level. “That is more effective and more important than imposing development from top,” he said later speaking to The Hindu. Drishtee started with three kiosks in 2000 and there are 2,200 kiosks today catering to needs in villages across the States of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Chattisgharh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu.

The venture that started in Haryana eight years ago is now helping the village entrepreneurs earn an average of between Rs.4,000 and 5,000 a month, said Mr. Mishra. He said that Drishtee was also looking to develop a model village where villagers would pool in capital to develop infrastructure and to replicate its experience in Commonwealth countries.

The overall theme of the session was SMEs as engines of economic growth, poverty alleviation, employment generation and export development and it was chaired by Jose Maurel, Director, Special Advisory Services Division, Commonwealth Secreta riat. The session examined the Indian and international experiences on the link between SMEs and economic development, in women’s empowerment and pro-poor development. N.R. Krishna Kumar, Director of Operations, India and Middle East, Det Norske Veritas AS, made a presentation on new thinking in SME development — quality and building linkages.

The second session took a look at initiatives by public institutions and NGOs in facilitating export-led SME development. Employment generation, use of appropriate strategies, emphasis on gender, micro credit and technology were focus areas.

Export Import Bank’s SME development works was presented by K. Muthukumaran, Chief General Manager of the Bank, and Ram Venuprasad, adviser, enterprises development at the Special Advisory Services Division, and B.L. Parthasarathy, Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Secretariat. The delegates at the programme paid a visit to BodyGear International Private Limited, a medium-sized toy exporter at the Edayar Industrial Area.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Developing micro enterprises in villages
The best of the Commonwealth
Doctors keep away from meet
Karim calls for innovation in bamboo craft
Zero growth for Cochin Port
Police-public interaction
Fake-note case: accused sentenced
High security at important points
Lorry rams nine vehicles
In Kochi Today

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu