Hence MSME become a key part of the supply chain catering to foreign companies establishing factories in India. Many such companies, like Nokia, Suzuki Motors, Schneider, Alstom, ABB, Bosch, have successfully learnt to deal with MSME. For example, Maruti Suzuki sources a large percentage of its parts form Indian MSME. Many foreign companies establishing in India will have to purchase 100 per cent of their inputs, in many industries, form local sources. MSME can form a substantive part of this. Quality of supplies by MSME is up to global standards, as can be seen from Table 3.

With some 30 IITs and a similar number of IIMs, the Indian higher education system has received a huge fillip. With the proliferation of online education, more and more Indians are gaining training and skills to make a dent in the newly developing fields, like, IOT, AI, Big Data, Social Media Marketing, and so on. There is an upsurge in the ITI’s type of training too. Thus, the infra needed for speedy transport, a literate population to operate the newly emerging technology gadgets and software systems, the electronic payments systems backing, India is now poised as a powerhouse of value-added products. There are many B Schools now offering MBAs to family managed business persons, increasing their knowledge base, and enabling them to use business savvy methods to run their family heirlooms efficiently, and build for the future. 

One significant development which deserves a special mention is the PMGSS – The Prime Minister Gati Shakti Scheme. This scheme, formulated and operated under the watchful eyes of the PMO, has made the development of ‘Integrated Infra’ a reality. The software and the systems developed newly enable all the concerned ministries to communicate with each other electronically in real time, and ensure that the development schemes are neither duplicated, nor wasted. The thoroughness with which the schemes under the PMGSS are now being executed bode well for the country. With this scheme, truck shelters, cargo depots for railways, online booking, speedy transport under the tried and tested GST regime, larger trucks, buses, etc. are all doing the rounds of the country, carrying passengers and goods to all corners. The newly laid road highways are state of the art, and are enabling the 3PL’s and 4PL’s companies to do profitable business. New transport hubs and depots are getting built, with large capacities and modern facilities, such as, rest rooms, toilets, cloak rooms, facilities to fill up petrol/diesel/ charge EV’s. These new ways of doing business in the Indian industry will surely reduce the transportation cost from about 10 to 12 per cent to 8 to 9 per cent of the total cost of goods. 

Finally, India is now poised to become the third biggest economy, in a few years. Every day, one is hearing of new things coming up, such as, testing of new missiles and rockets, new submarines, launch of new ships. Vande Bharat is now here to stay and is being upgraded on a daily basis. The ‘Kavach’ system is under testing in different conditions, and is likely to be offered to other railways, just like how ISRO is carrying satellites for space odysseys. Hence, setting up a business in India is futuristic, makes a lot of sense, and, for foreign companies, connecting with the Indian MSME and helping it grow is a sure way to success. 

About the author:

R Jayaraman is the Head, Capstone Projects, at Bhavan's S P Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR). He has worked in several capacities, including Tata Steel, for over 30 years. He has authored over 60 papers in academic and techno economic journals in India and abroad. Jayaraman is a qualified and trained Malcolm Baldrige and EFQM Business Model Lead Assessor.