Law To Help Small/Medium Units Compete and Grow

New Delhi, June 23 (UNI) Law has been made to facilitate competitive growth of small and medium enterprises, the Law and Justice Ministry announced today.

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Bill, 2006, passed by Parliament and signed by President A P J Abdul Kalam has now been notified in the gazette, a Ministry statement said.

The enactment empowers the central government to notify programmes, guidelines or instructions to facilitate promotion and development of small and medium enterprises in a competitive way, the statement said.

It also empowers the central government to create a fund to facilitate such growth, it said.

The Act empowers state governments to specify by notification that provisions of Labour Laws as specified in Clause 9(2) will not apply to small and medium enterprises employing up to 50 people, it said.

The move is intended to facilitate the graduation of small enterprises to medium enterprises, it said.

A key goal is to ensure timely and smooth flow of credit to small and medium enterprises to minimise the incidence of sickness among them, it said.

The Act empowers the central and state governments to notify 'preference policies' for procurement of goods or services of such units by Ministries, departments and public sector agencies, it said.

The Act also enhances the objectives of such enterprises announced with the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India, it said.

UNI MJ RP RS1755