Hyderabad: With a view to encourage women entrepreneurs in the establishment of micro, medium and small enterprises (MSME) in the state, the Telangana government is planning to establish an MSME industrial park exclusively for women-led enterprises between the outer-ring road (ORR) and regional ring road (RRR).
Out of 10 industrial parks being setup between ORR and RRR, 5 will be MSME parks, and in each of these 5 parks, 5% plots have been reserved for women, and 15% will be reserved for SC/ST entrepreneurs. Out of the 5 MSME parks between ORR and RRR, one park will be built solely for women-owned MSMEs, and one will be built exclusively for innovative startups.
As per the new MSME policy unveiled by chief minister A Revanth Reddy and industries minister D Sridhar Babu on Wednesday, the Telangana government aims to establish a women-owned flatted factories in each of the 119 assembly constituencies in the state. It also wants to encourage women’s self-help group members to setup small businesses in these flatted factories.
In-built facilities like hostels, creches, toilets, testing centers; access to international consultants to lend support to businesses, product and market strategy development; access to hassle-free credit under the StreeNidhi scheme; co-branding support with the ‘Government of Telangana’ tag, and export market linkage support will be setup in these flatted factories.
Under the T-IDEA scheme, eligible MSMEs currently receive a 15% capital investment subsidy up to a limit of Rs 20 lakh. The Telangana government wants to lso increase that subsidy to 25% up to a limit of Rs 30 lakh. Women owned MSMEs presently receive an additional subsidy of 10% up to a limit of Rs 10 lakh under T-IDEA. Under the new policy, this additional subsidy will be increased to 20% up to a limit of Rs 20 lakh.
The Telangana government is also going to run a pilot program for revenue based financing for MSMEs. Under it, MSMEs can access credit based on future sales, reducing upfront burden and making funding more accessible, especially for women-led ventures.
To facilitate greater participation of women in industrial processes, the Telangana government also intends to systematically review and rationalise prohibitions under the Telangana Factories Rules, 1950, on the employment of women workers in sectors including biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, food processing, information technology and IT-enabled services, as well as restrictions on their employment in commercial establishments in the state.
Some key takeaways from the new MSME policy
- An MSME wing comprising a high-level steering committee for 24/7 support to MSMEs.
- Rs 600 crore over 5 years to support initiatives for MSMEs.
- State government to establish 10 new Common Facility Centers (CFCs) in 10 districts with the highest incidence of MSMEs.
- In 5 MSME parks to be built between ORR and RRR, State government aims to encourage construction of one warehouse in each of the parks on public private partnership (PPP) model.
- State government to promote the development of worker housing for greater retention of workers.
