Only 16% MSMEs that showed interest in 2013 invest in Vadodara

So far, the district has attracted Rs 612.8 crore worth investment since 2009.

Investments in Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in Vadodara has taken a hit this year, with only 80, or a little over 16% of investment intentions made during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit 2013 having fructified so far, project report available with the district industries centre at Vadodara reveals. Officials attribute this to the slowdown in economy, coupled with lack of commitment among investors towards “intentions” shown during the summit.

As many as 489 individuals and entities had shown interest to invest in Vadodara in the MSME sector during the 2013 summit, which is the highest figure so far in the last three summits for the district. However, only 80 such intentions have been commissioned by the government, while 102 entities dropped out, as the process to commission remaining intentions goes slow. Even the quantum of investments have seen a huge dip. In 2011, 56 entities put in Rs 412.5 crore worth of investment in the region, while so far during the current year only Rs 86.9 crore worth investments have been made in the region.

The state government arm facilitating investment from the MSMEs has created an engineering cluster at Makarpura to accommodate new investments in the region.

Story continues below this ad

It is in the process of setting up similar clusters at Bodeli and Sardar Estate for industries involved in making glass-based products and cement pipes, among others.

Land acquisition has also emerged as an issue in the region as companies interested in setting base here have to fall back
on private land as the GIDCs have virtually no space left with them.

“Most of the investment intentions were made online in 2013 and a large number of them also turned out to be non-serious because they did not enter into any legal bound agreement to investment. Also, most sectors coming here are skill-based and therefore require highly trained manpower which they might be finding difficult to hire,” said Vadodara industries commissioner Sanjiv Bhardwaj.

So far, the district has attracted Rs 612.8 crore worth investment since 2009. Also, during 2009 and 2011, out of 146 proposals received by the government, only 84 entities set up their units in Vadodara, while 52 opted out after entering into an MoU with the government.

Story continues below this ad

Around 3,000 persons have been employed by these companies. Industry sources said that most of the MSMEs belong to engineering and pharmacy sectors, which attract investment between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 5 crore per unit.

The District Industries Centre facilitates units in terms of land acquisition, fund and pollution board clearances, among others.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
GIDC
MSME