Saurabh Gupta | 01 May, 2008
The SME sector needs more recognition and there is a need for revaluation of the sector. This was stated by Mr. K. V. Kamath, the newly elected president of CII & Managing Director & CEO, ICICI Bank Ltd. during a press conference in New Delhi today.

"...I think there is a need for revaluation of this sector. The SMEs play a major role in the development of the Indian economy. More than a decade back, there were just 35,000 SMEs which gradually grew to 75,000. Last year it was 125,000 and this year our estimate is 200,000 SMEs. However there is a wide disparity in the official figures...it was only the three-fourth of the estimated figure. So this sector need more recognition," said the CII president.

He said, there is need to encourage the development of SMEs.

According to CII's annual report, the MSMEs are a vital part of the Indian economy contributing over 45% of the country's industrial production and around 40% of the total exports.

Thirteen million MSMEs in India employ over 31 million people. The government has identified three thrust areas for increasing competitiveness in this area: technology (including quality), skills development and finance, the report added.