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Role of Indian SMEs to Achieve Economic Dominance At present, SMEs contribute about 40% to the total industrial output, employ approximately 42 million people and generate 1 million new jobs every year

By Pawan Gupta

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As per the recent study by Harvard University's Center for International Development (CID), India will feature on top of the list of fastest growing economies till 2025 with an average annual growth of 7.7 per cent.

The PM has been continuously focusing on overall development of the nation by implementing programmes such "Make in India', "Digital India', "Skills India'. However, the nation needs to understand the bigger picture behind these drives; we must understand why these ideas are being pushed so hard.

10 Trillion USD Economy By 2032.

That's our economic goal for now, set by the government of India and it is huge target to achieve. Though it shows India's aggressive approach towards economic growth, it also demands drastic measures if we are to achieve it.

For example, "Make in India' is about making India the global production hub, aim is to Make in India, for India & for the world, to make our enterprises globally competitive, and to make the world depend on us for production. To do that Indian manufacturers need to up their standards and down their costs to compete with the world. All in all, India's dream of economic dominance is great but great things require greater focus, greater efforts and above all greater execution.

Source: World Economic Forum

At the moment, India's GDP is growing at good 7% which is good but we need this to get better if we are to reach our target by 2032. There are certain things that must be focused on if we are to grow rapidly, India's digital divide must disappear and most importantly, the backbone of India economy, the 51 Million SMEs, we don't just need these SMEs to keep playing their part of keeping the economy walking, we need them to step up, to grow and start competing internationally.

Current Scenario of SMEs in India

At present, SMEs contribute an approx. of 40% to the total industrial output, employ approximately 42 million people, generate 1 million new jobs every year, and are responsible for around 8000+ different high quality products every year.

But even after all this; the growth of SMEs is relatively slow. Although, SMEs play a great role in the economy of the country, their role is more towards its survival than growth.

As a fact, only 2% of the SMEs are online engaged, whereas, only 1% SMEs exports their products while others don't even dare.

Truth is if there is a mantra for India's unstoppable growth & dream of global economic dominance, that mantra's main ingredient is the growth of SMEs.

India is a huge market for almost everything however, it is still a finite market with a limit and with so many participants working on the same target market, scope for growth is constantly vanishing, survival and maintaining current market shares are a challenge in itself.

How will Indian SMEs Grow Further?

To grow in such a country is a challenging task that requires extreme marketing and resources both which, SMEs cannot afford. The solution? Trade Globally! Global markets are an infinite market place that has a market potential of epic proportions, all we need is of our SMEs to dive in and explore these.

I do realise that although tempting, international markets are dilemma of their own, an unknown territory that requires resources and time to get started with. But the time has changed, the advancements in technology is enabling to overcome the age old global trade barriers that has kept nations economically apart for centuries.

Source: TRAI

Through the use of such technological advances, today SMEs can overcome these barriers and spread their wings globally, reaping benefits of the international markets. With a strong communication infrastructure in place and high internet penetration rates, there can't be a better time for Indian SMEs to scale globally.

Challenges & Solution for Indian SMEs to Trade Globally

The major problem that has always stopped SMEs from going global has been the lack of information, and lack of resources to acquire that information. But today, there are platforms that are solving this. Now SMEs can find specialised end-to-end global trading platform helping companies going global by analysing billions of rows of global trade data and converting it in to useful insights and intelligence to help the companies.

Not only that, with their expertise they have been helping companies understand global trading and recognise where the potential lies for their company. From the question of what to trade, to where to trade, when to trade, what price to trade, and how to trade. These platforms also ensure to mitigate the risks through verifying the existence and ensuring that the trade counterparts are genuine with the trade history and holistic view

Inclusive Global Trade would be the Key for India's Economic Dominance

As per the recent study by Harvard University, diversifying the export base will be main driver for India to maintain its edge as global economic leader in years to come and active participation of SMEs in the global trade will be key ingredient for success.

SMEs have been the backbone of Indian economy, and if the Indian economy wants to grow, SMEs growth is the way to go. Similarly, if Indian SMEs wants to grow, they must go beyond borders and trade internationally, in the past, global trading has been very complex and extremely risky however, with the advancements of technology and its innovative uses, there are platforms that are making international trade achievable for these SMEs.

The great thing is that it is not just another government with its vision, the nation is aligned, and everyone is working towards it. Youth is developing its skills, manufacturing is going up, and that's not all, then there is an integrated global trade platform that is there to enable the Indian SMEs and manufacturers to penetrate the global market.

Pawan Gupta

Founder, Connect2India

Pawan is an entrepreneur with expertise in trade and technology. As founder & CEO of Connect2India, he is making global trade safe and easy, enabling 50 million Indian MSMEs to go global. With degree from London Business School, Pawan has enjoyed solving core business problems - be it at Fortune 500 companies or in his own entrepreneurial ventures. 

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