E-Commerce is widely considered as a medium to reduce costs related to penetration and sustainability of exporters in international markets. Indian MSMEs stand to benefit from the enhanced visibility provided by e-commerce platforms. Improved infrastructure, competitive pricing and reduced costs associated with marketing and outreach of products over a digital platform contribute to promoting online sales.
Government of India has taken several measures to enhance the exports by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). These include efforts made under Make in India Programme, Promotion of Ease of Doing Business, improved availability of credit through MUDRA, Stand up India. Further, Ministry of MSME has established 52 Export Facilitation Centers (EFCs) across the country with an aim to provide requisite mentoring and handholding support to MSEs in exporting their products and services to the foreign market; and 102 Enterprise Development Centers (EDCs) have been setup with the aim to build a network of entrepreneurial leaders by providing professional mentoring and handholding support services to existing as well as aspiring MSMEs with special focus on rural enterprises on continuous basis. These EDCs act as “One-stop-shop” and provide services under components including Awareness, Incubation, Enterprise Facilitation etc. In addition to these, Ministry is also implementing International Cooperation Scheme for enhancing the marketability of products and services in the MSME sector by facilitating visit /participation of MSMEs in international exhibitions /trade fairs/buyer-seller meet etc. abroad and also holding International conferences/seminars/workshops in India, for technology infusion, exploring business opportunities, joint ventures etc. Also, Cluster Development Programme is being implemented by Office of Development Commissioner(MSME) for enhancing the productivity and competitiveness as well as capacity building of Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) to increase demand of domestic products in global markets.
Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) has taken multiple initiatives for enhancing participation of MSMEs in e-commerce, which include:
- Procurement and Marketing Support (PMS) Scheme: Under this Scheme, the sub-component of “Adoption of e-Commerce by Micro Enterprises” has been introduced. This new component includes providing financial assistance for selling products or services by Micro Enterprises (up to 10 new products) through e-commerce portals.
- Portal of National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC): NSIC, a PSU under the Ministry of MSME has launched MSME Global Mart Portal (www.msmemart.com) – a B2B e-commerce marketing platform for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which provides Global Trade Leads, Tender Information, Franchise Opportunities, Data on Used Machineries, etc.
- E-commerce portal of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC): KVIC a statutory body under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has also launched a portal ekhadiindia.com for B2C outreach, which enables all businesses to have a global reach with Interactivity, Immediacy and Ease of Adaptation.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.