(changes in last para)

New Delhi, Feb 8 (UNI) In a major decision, the government today announced dereservation of 79 items from the small scale industry (SSI) sector in what it called an attempt to unleash the growth potential of Indian industry.

With this, now only 35 items are left reserved for the SSI sector.

The pace for de-reservation of such items, which began with the process of economic liberalisation launched in early 1990's, gathered pace in 2005 when 108 items were dereserved, followed by dereservation of 180 and 212 items in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

This had left only 114 items for exclusive manufacture in the SSI sector.

Defending the further scaling down of the SSI sector, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said it will increase the competitiveness of industry, facilitate adequate flow of credit, and help upgrade technology in producing world class products to compete in the global market. It said the decision will also enable Indian industry to compete with imports, achieve the economies of scale and boost job opportunities.

The details of 35 items left in the SSI category in group-wise are- Food&Allied Items - 5 items, Wood&Wood Products - 1 item, Paper&Paper Product -1 item, Plastic Product (including injection moulded Thermo Plastic Products) - 5, Organic Chemicals, Drugs&Drug Intermediates - 3 items, Other Chemicals&Chemical Products -7 items, Glass&Ceramics -1 item, Mechanical Engineering Excluding Transport Equipment - 10 items and Electrical Machines, Appliances&Apparatus- 2 items.

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