Centre to issue guidelines for SME Development: Minister

Hyderabad, Jul 8 (UNI) The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre will shortly come out with detailed guidelines for implementing the provisions of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Development Bill passed by Parliament in the SME sector, Union Small Industries Minister Mahabir Prasad said today.

Inaugurating the new training Centre of the National Institute of Small Industry Extension Training (NISIET) here the minister said realising the importance of the small-scale sector in employment generation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi were keen on giving a thrust to the sector to spur economic growth in the country.

Mr Prasad said the Government would shortly set up a National Advisory Board for promotion of Cottage, Tiny, Micro, Small and Medium Industries.

With the world becoming a global village, the country had to prepare itself for competition and the NISIET which provided training to entrepreneurs within the country and abroad, had an important role in grooming potential industrialists, the Minister said releasing a handbook on ''Cluster Development Volume I''.

Highlighting the signicant features of the Andhra Pradesh Government's Industrial Policy 2005-10, State Industries Minister J Geeta Reddy said the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy Government had consciously moved away from tax-based incentives for creating an excellent infrastructure and to attract both domestic and foreign investors to set up units in the state.

Ms Reddy said the Government was encouraging youth to take up self employment under the ''Rajiv Yuua Shakti'' scheme.

NISIET Principal Director Chukka Kondaiah said the Institute earned an all time record of Rs 8.25 crore income during 2005-06.

UNI SM AT PM1706