Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

The Ministry of Small Scale Industries and Agro and Rural Industries was created in October 1999. In September 2001, the ministry was split into the Ministry of Small Scale Industries and the Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries. The President of India amended the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961, under the notification dated 9 May 2007. Pursuant to this amendment, they were merged into a single ministry.

The ministry was tasked with the promotion of micro and small enterprises. The Small Industries Development Organisation was under the control of the ministry, as was the National Small Industries Corporation Limited public sector undertaking).

The Small Industries Development Organisation was established in 1954. It has over 60 offices and 21 autonomous bodies under its management. These autonomous bodies include Tool Rooms, Training Institutions and Project-cum-Process Development Centres.

Services provided include:

• Facilities for testing, toolmenting, training for entrepreneurship development
• Preparation of project and product profiles
• Technical and managerial consultancy
• Assistance for exports
• Pollution and energy audits

It also provides economic information services and advises Government in policy formulation for the promotion and development of SSIs. The field offices also work as effective links between the Central and State Governments.

The now-defunct Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries had the objectives of facilitating coordinated and focused policy formulation and effective implementation of programmes, projects, schemes, etc., for improving supply chain management, enhancing skills, upgrading technology, expanding markets and capacity building of entrepreneurs/artisans and their groups/collectives.

The Ministry deals with the khadi, village and coir industries through the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and the Coir Board. It coordinates implementation of two countrywide employment generation programmes, namely, the Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) and the Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana (PMRY) with the cooperation of State Governments, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other banks. The KVIC, established by an Act of Parliament, is a statutory organisation engaged in promotion and development of khadi and village industries for providing employment opportunities in the rural areas, thereby strengthening the rural economy. The coir industry is a labour-intensive and export-oriented industry. It uses a by-product of coconut, namely, coir husk. The Coir Board, a statutory body established under the Coir Industry Act 1953, looks after the promotion, growth and development of the coir industry, including export promotion and expansion of the domestic market.^[2]

It was headed by the Minister of Agro & Rural Industries and was based at Udyog Bhavan, Rafi Marg, New Delhi. Shri Mahabir Prasad was the last incumbent.

• MSME-Technology Centre Baddi Solan
• Central Tool Room, Ludhiana^[3]
• Central Tool Room Extension Centre, Nilokheri earlier functional as Integrated Training Centre, Nilokheri
• Indo Danish Tool Room, Jamshedpur

Integrated Training Centre, Nilokheri was an employment and training agency in NilokheriinKarnal district in the state of Haryana owned and managed by the Government of India and responsible for upgrading technical skills of technicians.

It was built around the vocational training centre that was transferred from Kurukshetra, in July, 1948 to the 1100 acres of swampy land on the Delhi-Ambala highway as one of several enterprises intended to provide employment and training for displaced persons following the partition of India This training centre was under Small Industries belonged to subhash mukherjee Development Organisation and used to provided training to extension officers (industries of State Governments as well as managers and technician entrepreneurs both in modern small scale and traditional village industries. During the Year 1986-87 the centre trained 200 technician, 85 women under core women training programme and 57 SIDO officers.^[4]

It provides technical training to artisans and workers sponsored by the state government. It also organises training of Extension Officers engaged in various developmental organisation. It provides summer training programs for Degree/Diploma Engineers.

Due to some conflict between the Principal and Vice-Principal of Integrated Training Centre was relinquished.^{[clarification needed]} Later in the year 2014 the center was taken over by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises which led to its development as Extension center for Central Tool Room, Ludhiana i.e. Central Tool Room Extension Center, Nilokheri. Currently running various technical short term courses.

The centre comes under the Government of India and has a Principal and a Vice Principal. The Ministry regulates:

• Khadi and Village Industries Commission
• National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector
• National Small Industries Corporation Ltd.
• National School of Leadership
• National Institute for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises^[5]
• National Institute for Entrepreneurship & Small Business Development
• Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship ^[6]

It was launched as a central sector scheme in 2008–09 to promote self employment in the country through setting up micro enterprises. It is a credit linked subsidy scheme in which loans up to 25 lakh for manufacturing sector and up to 1000 Lakh for service sector is forwarded to the eligible beneficiaries for which subsidy of up to 35% is provided to them.^[7]

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission is the implementing agency at the National level. The individuals who are above the age of 18 years and are at least 8th pass, self help groups, Societies registered under Societies Registration Act, 1860, Charitable trusts are all eligible to be beneficiary. Also, only new projects are considered for sanction under the scheme.^[7]

• Ministry of Small Scale Industries

• Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
• Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries