Boosted by Aero India, MSMEs look to fly high

 Micro and Small Scale Enterprises (MSMEs),  which have set up stalls at Aero India 2017 exhibition halls under a government's subsidy scheme are expecting a huge jump in their companies' prospects as scores of visitors expressed interest from across the globe.

The industries mainly supply defence and aerospace components to Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), HAL, IAF among other leading domestic companies. The exposure at the event has brought each of them attention from prospective customers across the globe.

Pushpak, a small industry that supplies various defence and aerospace components to Isro and HAL, shared a 25 sqft stall with six other companies. Its managing director C S Prakash was, however, beaming with confidence as he showed a list of 26 firms expressing interest in his company’s products. “MSMEs are capable of reaching new heights every day. But, they need to be recognised. Platforms like this will introduce us to global customers,” he said.

Under the marketing assistance scheme of the Ministry of MSME, National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) gives subsidies ranging from 60% to 80% to MSMEs and 100% to firms of persons from the Scheduled Castes.

NSIC Zonal General Manager P Ravi Kumar said some of the MSMEs that had taken subsidy during the last air show in 2015 have grown to become big enterprises. "SLN Technologies and Bliss Aerospace availed of subsidy in 2015. Now, they have rented a stall at a cost of Rs 5 lakh,” he said.

Anil Kumar C V of Naabhya, another firm that specialises in complex cable assembly for aircrafts and industrial needs, said that for a micro industry the Aero India exhibition is like a marriage bureau. “The only difference here is that it is pure business. Though we have worked with DRDO, BEL and other major organisations, the response here is amazing. We got in touch with customers we never imagined,” he said.

Prasanth Rajappan, senior production manager of Eldaas that provides project engineering and electronic board designing, said at least six meetings were scheduled with prospective customers on Friday. “Sweden’s Saab expressed is interested in our products.”