Lucknow, Dec 4 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh received investments worth Rs.1,400 crore in the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector in 2009, a government official said here Friday.
“The growth of micro and small enterprises had been phenomenal over the past two years,” state Industries Director Mohammad Iftikhar Uddin said.

Addressing a seminar organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the National Small Industries Corp (NSIC), Uddin said investments to the MSME sector grew by 70 percent last fiscal from Rs.1,250 crore in 2007-08.

“It has already touched Rs.1,400 crore in 2009,” he added.

NSIC senior manager A.K. Singh, who was also present at the seminar, said the state-run firm would continue supporting the MSME sector in terms of finance, marketing, technology and skill upgrading.

NSIC is offering marketing strategies and raw material assistance to small and medium enterprises as well as organising exhibitions, buyer seller meets and purchase programs to help the sector, Singh said.

Dheeraj Sahu, joint executive director of Udyog Bandhu, an organisation set up by the Uttar Pradesh government to address the grievances of the state’s industries, expressed concern over the fierce competition MSMEs were facing in the era of globalisation.

Udyog Bandhu is holding meetings at district, divisional and regional levels to resolve industry issues and in turn make the necessary policy changes, Sahu said.

He also said the government was creating a web portal for industries with the help of software major Infosys, which will be launched by March 2010.