Chandigarh BDS Cluster

The contribution of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to the Indian economy is very significant in terms of employment, industrial output and exports. Indeed, there is now widespread recognition in India that a vibrant SME sector is potentially a key engine of economic growth, job creation and greater prosperity.

One of the characteristics of the SME sector is the clustering of units that produce related products in identified geographical locations. Such clustering provides critical mass for the customization of services and collaboration on mutually beneficial business operations, and thereby leveraging the advantages of economies of scale

Given the importance of the SME sector and the location of SMEs in clusters, the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is implementing a World Bank-led multi-agency /multi-activity project titled ‘Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Financing & Development Project’. The nodal agency for the project is the Banking Division, Ministry of Finance, Government of India;  the international partners are the World Bank; Department for International Development (DFID), UK;  KfW, Germany; and GTZ, Germany. The project aims to improve SME access to finance and business development services (BDS). This is being done with the support of Technical Assistance for strengthening the credit information system, credit rating, credit scoring, structuring of innovative products, capacity building of the participating banks, policy and regulatory issues, and promotion of market-oriented BDS for the sector. The outcome will be to make SME lending an attractive and viable financing option for banks, as also to facilitate increased turnover and employment in the SME sector.

Chandigarh

Chandigarh is the common capital of two neighbouring states—Punjab and Haryana. Popularly known as the ‘City Beautiful’, Chandigarh is a modern city, particularly famous for its architecture and landscape. It has two satellite cities (both of which share a border with it): Panchkula and Mohali. These three cities together form a rough triangular area, known as the ‘Chandigarh tri-city’.

Chandigarh has two industrial estates, Phase-I and Phase-II, separated by a common road. There are about 15 medium to large industrial units located here, including two public sector units. Chandigarh also has nearly 2950 SME units located around the city, of which about 40% are ancillary units producing components for the tractor industry. Other SME units produce industrial fasteners, electrical/ electronic items, machine tools, pharmaceutical, plastic goods, sanitary fittings, steel/ wooden furniture, food products, etc. The total estimated annual output of these industries is about 650 crore rupees.  (www.chandigarh.gov.in).