Govt to set up 20 new MSME Technology Centres, invites bids

The Establishment of New Technology Centers/Extension Centers (TC/EC) program, which is run by the MSME ministry's Office of the Development Commissioner (DC), which aids the latter in developing, coordinating, implementing, and overseeing various MSME policies, is looking to hire a central public sector enterprise (CPSE) as a nodal agency to increase the number of technology centres and extension centres throughout the nation. In a request for proposal, the DC office said that it intends to engage a CPSE to work as a Nodal Agency for the establishment of new Technology Centres (TCs) and Extension Centres (ECs) on a turnkey basis. ECs are TCs that are scaled down and are essentially industry-specific TC. According to the proposal, the work involved creating DPRs (detailed project reports), planning, designing, building, and maintaining civil infrastructure, purchasing machinery and equipment, managing contracts, and providing implementation support to the office of the DC (MSME), including monitoring and supervision. The deadline for submitting bids is May 8, 2023. The nodal agency's contract will be for three years, with the possibility of an additional extension if necessary for the project. The bidding document states that the projected total project cost is Rs 2,920 crore, notwithstanding the fact that the actual project cost will vary due to variations in the cost of each TC/EC based on many criteria, including location and sector of the TC/EC. Currently, there are 18 TCs, established between 1967 and 1999, of which 10 provide technological support to industries through the design and manufacture of tools, precision components, moulds, dies, etc., while the remaining eight TCs provide technical services to develop and upgrade technologies, processes and products to MSMEs apart from training in the specific product categories such as forging and foundry, electronics, electrical measuring instruments, fragrance and flavour, glass, footwear and sports goods, according to the MSME ministry’s FY23 annual report. The government is now building 15 additional TCs at an estimated cost of $400 million, including money from the World Bank of $200 million, in order to improve the network and capacity of TCs. However, “It may be noted that even with the increased network of 33 TCs across India, there will be on average one/two TCs in a state and large numbers of MSMEs will remain unserved even in major industrial areas, leave aside smaller cities and rural areas. In some industrially developed countries there is about 1 TC (including equivalent institutes and labs) per 30,000 MSMEs, whereas in India this ratio is about 1 TC per 2,65,000 MSMEs,” the document said. As a result, the government is building another 20 TCs and 100 ECs at a cost of roughly Rs 35 billion in order to further expand the TCs network. In November 2018, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its approval. All of the centres will total 190 with the addition of the new and current TCs and ECs. Also Read Acquisition of Bock augurs well for Danfoss IndiaSmart project reports using SmartPM technologies