With more specialised agencies with specific mandates coming into existence nisiet 's involvement in this area took a back seat. During the last three years nisiet's interest in this sphere was rekindled when it was felt that the task of manpower selection and job synchronisation, keeping in view the course of events today, was not being handled resourcefully by specialised organisations. This was an opportunity that nisiet cashed in on and launched a programme called NCPAT (National Corporate Placement Aptitude Test). The objective of the programme was to find the best talent and provide viable opportunities to the burgeoning number of qualified unemployed youth, thus fulfilling needs at both ends. When the examination was held for the first time in the year 2001, there were several pitfalls. It was a learning experience for the institution. We encountered many problems, made many friends, and gathered valuable nuggets of experience in carrying out this onerous task.

The experienced team from nisiet now intends to launch a similar programme this year to meet the human resource needs of many organisations in the corporate sector, small industry sector, and other segments. When an examination of this magnitude has to be conducted at the national level you need tremendous networking and requisite skills for it to take off successfully. The talent chosen should match the precise and exacting needs of the industry and business.

When we conducted the examination last year, we saw an abundance of talent come into view and many among them have found placements in reputed organisations. Some took up intermediate stations before they could graduate to higher plains. More and more companies, institutions, and industries are evincing interest in this examination. Recruitment is no longer is an old fashioned job. It requires new tools, new practices, new systems, and the ability to reach out to far flung areas. Today, there is no dearth of talent and ample opportunities are available within the country. The overseas markets do not hold the same charm any longer. The domestic market itself is very huge and is growing by leaps and bounds as more and more multi-national companies are entering the Indian market. Globalisation is providing sweeping opportunities and has already resulted in booming exponential growth.

The relaunching of this programme is itself a means of rediscovering our own potential and responding to market demands, which is the hallmark of any learning organisation. nisiet's various pursuits consistently focus on meeting the national goals. When the Hon'ble Prime Minister envisaged a target of generating 10 million jobs, we don?t want to be left behind in contributing our bit to this grand endeavour.

The times have never been so good mainly because of the unending opportunities that have sprung up. Our democratic polity guarantees freedom for the efflorescence of human personality thus ensuring uninterrupted advances in science and technology, art, literature, humanities, education, etc. At the same time, on the flip side, a dismal scenario is unfolding, you are not sure when you will step on a landmine and blow up or fall victim to a terrorist’s bullet. It looks like we are eking out our living somewhere between these two extremes.

In between these happenings, we are also witnessing sweeping economic changes across the world. Opportunists are waiting in the wings to turn the tide in their favour. Scams and scandals have become the order of the day. It is in our hands to either make this age the best or the worst for ourselves. Are we ready to be proactive and change our archaic outdated rules, regulations, and laws? Though it is always better to be late than never, at this juncture, our response, recovery, and rebuilding speeds are of vital importance.

The Government has realised this and has kick-started the process of improvements and simplifications in policies, laws, and procedures. The Companies Act is one of them that went through the process. Put together almost half a century ago, in 1956, the Companies Act came up for scrutiny in 1999 and went through some amendments since then every year, till the last one in 2002. The decision to effect changes in the Act was itself a good augury, but the fact that the Act was actually amended is noteworthy.

Acknowledging the fact that recent corporate failures across the globe have eroded the confidence of the retail investor on accounting standards, the amendments to the Companies Act aimed at instilling a sense of balance and restoring the confidence of the investors is highly essential and has come at the right time. In the last few years, corporate governance has come to the fore, and a number of committees – the Cadbury Committee, the OECD Code, Combined Code of London Stock Exchange, the Blue Ribbon Committee in U.S, and the Kumara Mangalam Birla Committee in India have recommended sweeping reforms to corporate governance.   Kumara Mangalam Birla Committee report on Corporate Governance is certainly one of the most exhaustive reports and has incorporated best practices from Anglo-American models.

While SEBI’s Code of Corporate Governance is a welcome step in the direction of fostering global principles of “Transparency, Accountability & Equity”, among Indian companies, it is only the beginning of the Corporate Governance cult in India. Indian Corporates have to go a long way in achieving “transparency” in its true sense as world defines it. For ‘corporate governance’ to rise up from being a mere fashionable buzzword, concerted efforts need to be put in complying with accounting standards and the law. These amendments seem to have taken the first step in setting right this anomaly.

What do these amendments mean for the SME sector? The Companies Act now provides for a liberalised inter-corporate investment/loan regime, introduction of buy-back of shares, sweat-equity, nomination facility for shareholders, debenture holders and depositors and compliance with accounting standards. Besides this, it facilitates the creation of Investor Education and Protection Fund with the objective of utilising the unclaimed and unpaid funds of investors for the benefit of investor education and protection. It has significantly tightened penal provisions and increased corporate responsibilities towards investors. The amendments have also imposed a check on proliferation of small companies by the introduction of minimum paid-up capital requirement for commencement of joint stock companies. In a nutshell, capital market regulations, corporate governance, simplification of tax laws, rationalisation of excise and customs duty, etc., are some of the features that have become SME-friendly with regard to the Companies Act.

As Dickens said, the times are the best as well as the worst. What we make of it determines our destiny. We are living in times of professionalism and whether we like it or not, we have to play by the rules of the new game. Lift yourself up or be left out seems to be new corporate mantra as India moves forward tentatively, but surely.

We do not have to unravel the pernicious structural and dynamic process of discrimination that underpins the various manifestations of inequality. The acknowledgment that discrimination has to be eliminated is based on the understanding that discrimination is socially constructed and that it is not an essential or natural principle of human interaction. Discrimination is so insidious that there is a need to look at its various manifestations and deal with them holistically. The web of discrimination compels us to recognise the need and paves the way for concerted action against inequality and institutional mechanisms that perpetuate it. This recognition also paves the way for proactive positive measures. It is not enough to only prohibit discriminatory practices. Rather, we must focus on what could be the enabling issues, so as to put in place a positive approach.

It is in this line of thinking that on International Women's Day this year, i.e., on March 8, nisiet organized a conference on "Contemporary Indian Women: Celebrating their Spirit and Success". Though the philosophy of women's empowerment being addressed by the Women's Studies Cell of nisiet looks at empowerment of women through enterprise development, we cannot be oblivious to the other roles and other attainments of women, which have a bearing on this postulate. We have rightly partnered with institutions whose domain of activity conforms to this line of thinking pursued by nisiet. Many women, who have done outstanding work in their respective professions, attended the conference and this gave us sheer joy in celebrating this event.

Entrepreneurship is not a man's domain alone. There cannot be any discrimination in perceiving respective roles in nation building. In fact, the inability to tap women power through entrepreneurship development and enterprise creation can only lead to distorted development and slow growth. Increased participation of women in economic development reflects not only a desire for emancipation on their part, but is also an economic necessity. This effort needs due recognition, equal attention, and systematic action plans to focus their energies. If carried forward strategically, these can make a significant impact in giving directions to our entire nation building activities. A number of women are taking up challenges of enterprise creation and there are many success stories to substantiate the same. Such enterprises managed by women are providing employment to scores of people. The new economy has further opened up avenues and suitable opportunities have been made available to demonstrate that the contributions of women to society are no less significant. There is certainly a need to give a fillip to this soaring spirit of women through various policies and priority measures. Certainly, the participation of women in enterprise creation in India is nowhere nearer to what is happening in the developed world. But, in a very silent manner, droves of women are finding opportunities to enter the mainstream through approaches like the self-help group movement. These approaches give a newfound freedom to women to participate in decision-making. All these are positive trends and a nation can benefit further when right opportunities and right policy frameworks can channelise the formidable strength of women meaningfully in a befitting manner. This is the humble attempt being made at the Women's Studies Cell at nisiet and celebrating an event of this kind is a statement of our commitment towards this cause.

Today, the nature of the problem is fast changing in rural areas and contemporary rural realities challenges our traditional stereotypical view of the situation. Income generating activities are shifting from the agricultural to agro based and from obsolete traditional technologies to modern tailor-made rural technologies. Many of the traditional employment opportunities have nearly disappeared and therefore, a fresh thinking is needed to proceed in this direction.

The Government is focusing on rural industrialisation through institutional support from many organisations. The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is endeavoring to fill this gap by identifying suitable technologies to support rural industrialisation. One of the biggest challenges in this regard is the viability and sustainability of rural enterprises. The major bottleneck in this effort comes from technologies that would be pitched towards bringing a change in the rural industrial environment. Generally, the following factors can be considered to have affected effective rural industrialisation:

    * Mismatch between the needs of the rural sector and the technologies that have been deployed;

    * Lack of effective marketing support;

    * Inappropriate infrastructure to provide support for the growth of such industries; and

    * Lack of S&T based interventions.

Therefore, any move to bring about effective changes has to take into account rural skills, rural resources and rural well-being, which hold the key to the success of rural industrialisation efforts. Improved working skills, better processing and manufacturing methods along with the introduction of low capital intensive enterprises can help the rural poor ameliorate their living conditions.

We have to realise that rural circumstances are changing and as a consequence, development thinking too is undergoing a welcome change. It is in this context that new approaches to rural industrialisation become important, if a very strong impact has to be created. The expansion of rural industries depends upon a number of factors like availability of raw materials and power, technical advice, organised marketing of produce, etc. Some of these issues are being addressed, but there still remains a gap in terms of an effective mechanism to identify suitable technologies for rural situations.

To effectively address these issues, KVIC has been working on various strategies. In one of its significant moves, the Commission has taken a decision to set up technology interfaces in few selected development institutions in the country and nisiet is one of them.

nisiet is eminently qualified to handle this job in view of its endowments and has the requisite expertise and experience in meeting this challenge of identifying suitable technologies and providing support in terms of training, research, and development. Its various centres of excellence can render effective information, counseling, and extension support.

The technology interface unit at nisiet will undertake the following steps to meet the expectations of KVIC:

    *      Based on the needs of village industries in a specific location, a needs analysis would be conducted;

    *      The results of the needs analysis from the data would help nisiet to recommend specific technology/ ies suited to the needs of particular area/s;

    *      The technologies presently being used would be examined from the point of their relevance, obsolescence, and efficacy to rural requirements through S&T based interventions; and

    *      Various technology generators would be tapped in identifying suitable technologies.

The steps taken by KVIC in involving development institutions to bridge the gap in this regard is going to have a salutary effect. This project spread over five years will be a challenge to nisiet in chartering its course in realising these objectives. With a credible track record and loads of experience tucked away, nisiet can don this role in taking up the gauntlet to not only handle this task effectively but also to develop a replicable model as it has done with many programmes conducted during the past few years.

I am caught in the parade of memories…

If the above experiences have etched themselves indelibly on the professional template and made meaningful difference to the organisation, it is the fleeting associations with people who worked with us for short intervals and on project basis that have left a lasting impact on me. Their contribution to the development process at this institute was immense too. All these people brought in freshness into all our approaches. Perhaps every time I will ever listen to music, I will never be able to forget the gesture of receiving mp3 music files on Yak (nisiet's internal messaging system), which relieved officious tension and whetted my appetite for music. Be it in landscaping and architecture on campus or in writing and adding value to our academic and other programmes or even to general operations of the institute, they have made significant and memorable contributions. Their memories will always linger in our minds like the lawns the beautiful women sculpted with their green fingers or the clairvoyant skills applied by the designers in breaking the monotony of the architecture at nisiet. They brought in vivacity and vibrancy to life at nisiet.

Not to forget the workers who have interleaved poetry into plants and those angelic faces with their lithesome fingers on the keyboard that has turned nisiet into a knowledge hub. I can never forget the services of those ever-vigilant people who steadfastly stood by me and their various small contributions have made a big difference to my working in the organisation. I owe a deep sense of gratitude to the gracious lady minister in Delhi who had envisioned a nationwide SSI family and made us all feel part of this large extended web of relations. That she could pick up the phone to express her concern when your mother is unwell proves that there was warmth and that she cared for even our families' welfare. I am also extremely thankful to my bosses in Delhi who reposed trust in me, gave me complete autonomy, and egged me on towards achieving significant results at nisiet.

Development is a continuous process after all. At the end of the day I feel entitled to place on record a wish list as well.

    *      nisiet will surely emerge as a specialised institution in small industry management and development. The uniqueness of the institute, positioned as it is now, to cater to the variegated needs of the sector will be well utilised and a greater connectivity will develop between the institute and the industry.

    *      The number of Cells and Centres that were established at the institute over the last six years like Centre for Policy Research, Centre for Intellectual Property Rights and a few others will develop into Centres of Excellence in providing significant services to the industry.

    *      Small Industry in our country has a significant role to play in promoting entrepreneurship and employment generation and nisiet's contributions in this regard will prove vital as this role gets further consolidated in due course. Experiences of Indian industry will be shared with the rest of the world through the good offices of nisiet and this role will remain unique as well in times to come.

    *      The focus of various Centres and Cells will converge seamlessly into making nisiet a unique concept.

    *      Finally, among the many publications we brought out during the period, the news bulletin has evolved into a good communication medium of the Institute. Even a brief glance at the past issues would give a glimpse into the various highlights and happenings during this eventful journey. It is a historical record of nisiet's growth and achievements. This exercise should continue with vigour and commitment.

During these years with nisiet, personally it has been immensely satisfying to see the colour of the balance sheet turn from red to green and the colour of earth turn from dusty brown to different hues and shades of green. There never can be a final word in a farewell but something has to be final. Experiences from all over the world have taught us not to become complacent and not to take current success as permanent success. At the most we can pause briefly, savour our successes, and move on to the next target.

I wish everybody at nisiet fruitful years ahead, both personally and professionally. Go ahead, the foundation is laid and the castles of your dreams can be built now.

Au Revoir

until we meet again

A welcome gesture heralded the start of my tenure as the Director General. The Hon'ble Minister of Small Scale Industries and DoNER, Dr C P Thakur visited nisiet just after I took charge. The first ever visit of the Hon'ble Minister was a rewarding experience for the institute. The Hon'ble minister advised the nisiet family to identify and use the latest technologies to suit to the requirements of SMEs in the country and in specific to North-East, so that the institute can play its role more effectively. His insistence on devising programmes for the under-privileged sections and incorporation of modern technologies in the development of SMEs has encouraged us to go ahead towards our goal with renewed determination.

Mr S K Tuteja, Secretary, Ministry of SSI & ARI, Government of India, visited the nisiet on June 5, 2003. Mr Tuteja also acknowledged the important role nisiet is playing in the development of the SME sector. He congratulated the outgoing Director General, Dr S V Prabhath on the conclusion of his excellent stint at nisiet. His assurance of supporting nisiet in its endeavour towards the development of SMEs was a source of inspiration for us.

It was a privilege for me to bid farewell to Dr S V Prabhath, who successfully completed his tenure as nisiet's Director General. Dr Prabhath's contribution towards the nisiet family is very significant. During his tenure of 6 years and 3 months, he gave nisiet a firm foundation on which it can grow immensely in the future.

As Director General, I will try to do my best to make nisiet more dynamic and vibrant to address poly-dimensional developmental issues of SMEs and with the help of the nisiet family will strive to help this organisation reach new horizons. Considering the challenges posed by globalisation, and other factors, it is certain that SMEs will always have to struggle for their survival and it is here that nisiet can play its vital mandated role. With its expertise in the fields of entrepreneurship, technology, management and information support, nisiet can be a source of constant assistance and encouragement for the SMEs. The institute is constantly changing and modifying its promotional and developmental endeavours to cater to the emerging needs of SMEs by providing them solutions in the matters of training, consultancy, research, and information so that they can develop among themselves a competitive edge in the ever-changing market situation.

nisiet has been bridging the gap between the Government of India and different industrial sectors, associations, corporate sectors, NGOs and entrepreneurs which has proved to be helpful in the achievement of a common goal. nisiet also plays an important role in the transfer of technologies. Moreover, its ability to adopt new technologies has made it internationally renowned as an institute with a futuristic outlook.

nisiet tries to promote enterprise development in university and college curriculum too. nisiet aims to acquire the status of a deemed university in the near future and contribute immensely to the field of entrepreneurship development. My focus, as the new Director General, will be to promote nisiet as a premier institution in the field of micro, small and medium enterprises. I seek support and assistance from the Government of India, the state governments, parallel organisations and various non-government and corporate sectors to make nisiet a global leader in the field of SME development. I hope to elevate nisiet into an internationally acclaimed institution with all external and internal support. Let us move forward with vigour to realise the dream of a brighter nisiet in the coming days.

As a landmark achievement, the Institute is recognised as the 'Centre of Excellence' by UNIDO for its yeoman service to the cause of SMEs and in the process had tie-ups with several international agencies. The Institute has already entered into collaborations through MoUs for exchange of faculty, organizing training and consultancy projects. In the process it has played a significant role in fulfilling bilateral agreements by Government of India with other developing countries. Mauritius, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Mexico are some of the countries with which nisiet has MoUs. Delegations from different developing countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Sri Lanka also visiting nisiet on business development programmes.

Hitherto our courses for international trainees were directed from the Ministry of External Affairs. nisiet now is collaborating and networking with leading organisations all over the world for a totally market driven and contemporary approach in its training programmes to ensure a vibrant knowledge environment. In this context, the Institute is organising many product specific programmes to meet the requirements of the clientele.

nisiet has conducted over the years several experiments and interventions for promotion and development of SME sector. The methodology and contents of international programmes were constantly evolved, modifying its focus to match the changing needs of developing countries. Since then, we have been focusing to provide need-based training to the delegates of all developing countries. Our knowledge, skills and experience have been transmitted to the developing world through our programmes thus reflecting the benefits of 'Indianisation' of SME sector in many developing countries.

Cooperation with the international community has become an important part of policy making, though the primary concern of the Institute is to provide cutting edge advantages to the industry with our association. We, at nisiet, perceive that this endeavour associating with the world community against the backdrop of changing industrial environment have had a bearing upon the image of the country.

Greetings to all International Delegates!!!

India initiated planning for national economic development with the institution of Planning Commission in 1950. The entrepreneurial role of the State was evoked to develop the industrial sector. A very diversified industrial base has been created. The composition of industry since independence has undergone significant transformation. While developing entrepreneurship, small enterprises' sector has acquired a prominent role in socio-economic development of the country during the past five decades.

The small-scale sector accounts for 91% of industrial units in the country with more than 3.70 million units. It contributes over 40% of the gross turnover in the manufacturing sector, 45% of manufacturing exports and 34.3% of total exports and provides employment for 20 million as on 31 March 2003. Its contribution to GDP is also to the tune of 6.67%. The sector has a wide range of 7,500 products and this decade growth rate is 5.90%, and has emerged as an engine of growth in economic development of the country.

The industrial policy initiatives undertaken by the Government since 1991 have been designed to accelerate the process of making Indian Industry globally competitive. It recognised the strength and maturity of the industry, and attempted to provide the competitive stimulus for higher growth. The thrust of these initiatives has been to increase the domestic and external competition through extensive application of market mechanisms, and facilitating forging of dynamic relationship with foreign investors and suppliers of technology. This process of economic reforms has been a continuous affair.

The Government gave thrust in its policy to have spread effect of distribution of industries from a few dominant entrepreneurs to a large number of potential people of varied social strata. Today's entrepreneurship is confronting the ever-changing contours of the global economy that continue to redefine the warranted role of entrepreneurial response to these changes that become very critical for survival and growth of entrepreneurs.

nisiet tries its best for economic progress of the nation through improving human resource capabilities by way of creating more enterprises and self-sustenance of SME sector both in India and abroad.

However, during the British regime, these activities got dispersed due to improvements in transportation and policy measures which were not favourable to traditional products. In the post-independence era, industries like leather, hosiery and auto parts have developed in clusters due to local availability of skills, raw materials and other forward linkages. Naturally, there is an affinity in a line activity of specific industry and business leading to a cluster.

Today, there is a need to have cluster development as tool for SME growth, in view of emerging global competition through implication of WTO. Appropriate interventions are therefore required to develop viable clusters based on proven and tested methodology. This is required for the technological advancement of SMEs, by adopting modern management practices and producing diversified products comparable in quality which have a competitive edge in global market.

nisiet, has been making efforts to promote, develop and modernise micro, small and medium enterprises in India and abroad. nisiet's foundation laid since its inception has become the base for cluster approach in India, with our pioneering efforts in area development, infrastructure planning, industrial estates, and group based learning, all of which created a tremendous impact on the development of Indian small scale industries. Today, we are pursuing a cluster development approach for enhancing growth and competitiveness on the strength of these foundations. The policy of government on SSIs has enabled nisiet to start activities employing cluster development as a tool. As a starter, nisiet has conducted a unique Cluster Development Executive Programme for SIDO Officers in September 2003.

The following are the guiding principles that have been identified for interventions in cluster development approach.

    * Promoting partnership amongst the SSI entrepreneurs.

    * Involving the concerned industry associations.

    * Adopting a holistic approach for the overall development of cluster.

    * Drawing synergies from all the agencies involved.

    * Encouraging innovations that will be necessary to solve problems.

    * Aiming at tangible results that are measurable.

The Ministry of SSI has proposed to establish a National Resource Centre for SME Cluster Development at nisiet. The Centre will act as a nodal agency to offer training, handholding, documentation, and other follow up services to the existing clusters and help to form identified new clusters to foster SME development in the country. nisiet is rededicated and committed to its efforts to promote and strengthen cluster approach for SME development in India and abroad.