lack of awareness makes SME’s take backseat in contribution to development. The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in the economic growth of the country but due to lack of funding and awareness of alternative methods available, they are not able to enhance their presence in the market. MSMEs accounts for 40 per cent contribution to India's exports, 45 per cent to industrial output and 8 percent contribution to country's GDP. The State of Uttarakhand has 3.74 lakh SME units of which only 6.4 per cent are registered which needs to be addressed say the industry experts.
Keeping this view, to have more participation in the growth of the country, a seminar was organised by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Haridwar chapter in a local hotel in SIDCUl. It focused on laymen to understand the investment market complexities for parking their hard earned money and to facilitate SME Financing. The seminar was attended by social activists, bankers, academicians and entrepreneurs of the district.
Speaking to The Pioneer, moderator of the seminar Anil Taneja who is Regional Director PHD Chamber said, “We have taken this initiative to organise this regional seminar for Investors and Small and Medium Enterprises towards inclusive Growth. SME sector is one of the main focus areas of PHD Chamber for the state of Uttarakhand. PHD Camber had been engaging efforts in providing support to government and entrepreneurs through research based studies and other activities for generating relevant information support for the sector.”
The welcome address was delivered by the patron member JC Jain. He said that NSE SME Exchange is an important platform facilitating SMEs to unleash their potential of growth through equity. The seminar was part sponsored by Punjab National Bank Haridwar and was also supported by SIDCUl Manufacturers Association), Haridwar Management Association and Bhagwanpur Industries Association.
Head of Department of Commerce of SMJN PG College Haridwar , Sunil Kumar Batra said, “Risk and uncertainty factor affects the investors’ aptitude. Investors have so many options for investment which they must be aware of. Mutual funds are the safest option to invest in the present scenario or recession period.”
PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry established in 1905 is an apex body for the last 110 years, which works in collaboration with NSE and SEBI. Notably NSE conducts nearly 1,500 investor awareness seminars, in different parts of the country every year. The purpose of these awareness programmes is to educate people in the city, about how they can manage their finances better and the investing opportunities that are available. It is important that investors should understand the markets, the precautions they should take in choosing an intermediary or in trading products, before investing.
