‘Need to review definition of SMEs’

TCA Ranganathan,Chairman and Managing Director,Exports and Imports Bank of India (EXIM),called for a re-look into the way industries define small and medium scale (SME) industries.

Addressing the media in the city on Friday,he said,“There are a lot of discrepancies in the way SMEs are defined across the world. We need to set a bench mark to provide equal opportunities to SMEs across the world. At present,Indian SMEs have to compete with companies in Europe or other countries,which are double their capacity owing to disparity in the definition,” he said.

Talking about initiatives to help grassroots level craft-based organisations to expand their capacity,he said,“There are a lot such organisations across the country and capacity building is necessary for them. The bank has identified such organisations in Bidar,Karnataka,and North East India,” he said.

On the need for cluster development among industries,he said Indian companies should know to cooperate and compete with each other. “Our companies should be able to ensure they can bargain and do business as a collective entity,” he said.