IIM Raipur conducted a networking event for entrepreneurs on titled Rs Entrepreneurs University’ and the key aim of the event was to provide a platform for entrepreneurs to contemplate on the topic ‘Taking Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Forward’ and engage in a vibrant discussion.
The Panel discussion was attended by around 40 entrepreneurs from Raipur. The event started off with an insightful opening address delivered by Professor Bharat Bhasker, IIM Director, Raipur.
Bhasker stressed on the importance of SME industry by throwing light on the fact that almost half of the employment in our country is provided by the SME sector.
He also went on to state that the true measurement of our country’s growth can be done by looking at the situation of MSMEs. He concluded with the thoughts that even though manufacturing is becoming automated, MSMEs will have an equal or even bigger role going into the future. This is because they would need lesser investment as they evolve from the manufacturing sector to the service sector.
The opening address was followed by a panel discussion and the panel was moderated professionally by Lt. Col. Dr. Samar Singh, Assistant Professor -Business Policy and strategy, IIM Raipur and the panellists were Sunil Mishra, Managing Director, Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd; Mr. Harsh Chopra, Founder, Partners 4 Growth; Dr. Jagrook Dawra, Associate Professor - Marketing, IIM Raipur, each of them a repository of knowledge themselves.
The panel discussion was set to motion by the moderator and Sunil Mishra was the first to share his thoughts. He emphasized that the government policies are totally focussed
towards the SME sector and was quite convinced about the government’s good work in this regard. However, he raised concerns about a huge gap between the benefits the government offers and the benefits the SMEs take. He urged students and entrepreneurs to bridge this gap by facilitating the process so that SMEs can derive maximum benefits.
Dr. Jagrook Dawra gave his inputs to the discussion by drawing comparison on the basis of the Ease of Doing Business rankings, with countries like China.
While it was quite disheartening to see India rank quite poorly on most parameters, Dr. Dawra drew a positive perspective and said that a slight betterment of the ease of doing business rankings would ensure a huge rise in growth rates, owing to the indomitable spirit of the entrepreneurs of India.