ANNOUNCEMENTS
The significance of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the economic development of the country is well recognized. MSMEs are contributing in the exports, employment generation and regional development. MSMEs in the textile sub-sector are important for the livelihood of large population from rural India. At the global level too, India accounts for 5% share of the global trade in textiles and apparel. However, MSMEs are also suffering with host of challenges which hamper the growth of the sector. Some of the challenges pertains to lack of regulatory framework, market conditions, access to finance, research and development and technology related factors, physical infrastructures, entrepreneurial capabilities and entrepreneurial culture.
Government plays an important role in addressing the challenges faced by MSMEs through the economic policies and implementation of schemes as per the needs of the sector. Policies implemented by the Government support in building the regulatory framework in the country pertaining to MSMEs with a special attention to the key challenges faced by the MSMEs.
This thesis attempts to examine the gaps in the present policies available for the MSMEs with respect to the textile sector MSMEs. Through a systematic approach based on secondary literature and stakeholder engagement the work attempts to come up with a decision matrix based on the identified key growth indicators of MSMEs.
The thesis first attempts to identify key growth indicators for MSMEs from expert stakeholders following top-down approach. Thereafter, MSME respondents from four select textile clusters are approached through bottom-up approach to understand the issues and challenges faced by the four select textile clusters and validate and identify the key growth indicators through a perception survey of MSME respondents. The four select textile clusters are Ludhiana, Surat, Guwahati and Tirupur. The two set of indicators so identified are then comparatively analyzed to understand the common and different growth indicators from the perspective of two set of stakeholders. The difference in the set indicators reflect gap in policy formulation and designing. The methodology followed involves review of scholarly papers, perception survey of stakeholders on a Likert Scale at national, sub-national and local level, and group discussions complemented with quantitative survey.
A mix of top–bottom and bottom-up methodology has been adopted to identify the key growth indicators of MSMEs having the major influence on the sector’s growth. Expert stakeholders’ views helped building weights of the indicators. At regional level, the experiences and real insights from representatives of MSMEs across four select textile clusters uncover the ground challenges. The overall methodological framework is uniquely designed based on qualitative and quantitative evidences. The participatory approach sought the help of expert stakeholders to identify the key growth indicators, prioritize them and rate the relative importance (weighing) of each growth determinant. For the first time, the existing study developed a methodological framework to establish matrix of key growth indicators in support of policy makers. Further, the present study has taken account of the experiences and views of MSME stakeholders of four major textile clusters in India to bring out the real side of policy initiatives as the key consumer of these reforms are MSMEs.
The study reveals that the key growth indicators can be kept in mind while designing policy support measures for MSMEs. The key growth indicators\ for MSMEs as per the expert stakeholders are profitability (Finance), entrepreneurial behavior (Entrepreneurial Spirit), Quality of product (Customer Centric), industry friendly policies (Legal and regulatory & policy), product differentiation strategy (market access), access to finance (Finance), Legal structure (Legal and regulatory & policy). The expert stakeholders also presented a case in favour of government boosting MSMEs sustainability though the various policy interventions from time to time. The MSME respondents revealed the problems such as unawareness about government policies, procedural bottlenecks, lack of skilled workers, high taxes, and tedious documentation.
