Indian Minister of State, Micro Small
& Medium Enterprises and Minister of SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises)
and Start-ups of the Republic of Korea, Mr Hong Jong- haak inaugurated an India-Korea
Technology Exchange Centre in New Delhi. The establishment of the Centre is a
step towards bolstering bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the
Micro, Medium and Small Enterprises (MSME) sector.
On 10 July, the Minister of State
(Independent Charge) Micro
Small & Medium Enterprises, Mr Giriraj Singh and Minister of SMEs (Small and
Medium Enterprises) and Start-ups of the
Republic of Korea, Mr Hong
Jong- haak
inaugurated an India-Korea Technology Exchange Centre in New Delhi. The
establishment of the Centre is a step towards bolstering bilateral cooperation
between the two countries in the Micro, Medium and Small Enterprises (MSME)
sector.
According
to a press statement
released by the Indian Ministry of Micro Small & Medium Enterprises, Mr
Giriraj Singh said that the purpose of the Technology Exchange Centre is to
build a platform for and provide assistance to the micro, small and medium
enterprises of India and Korea where they will be able to identify and exchange
the latest technologies, share management expertise and technology applications
for product development.
Mr
Giriraj Singh also stated that the Technology Centre will work towards creating
reliable alliances in space, solar energy and nano-technologies among several
other upcoming cutting-edge technologies; he added that a number of Korean
organisations plan to initiate technology transfers in the MSME sector between
the two countries and this Technology Exchange Centre will provide them with
the resources to make reliable partners and to build larger and better
networks.
In
addition to the Centre, the Ministry announced that a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Small Business Corporation
(SBC) of Korea and the National
Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) for cooperation in the
MSME Sector. The SBC will mobilise the South Korean MSMEs for technical
and business alliances with their counterparts in India and organise partner
matching events in Korea for Indian delegations.
The
first India-Korea working group on the MSME sector was established on 31 March
2017, when both countries agreed to strengthen the cooperation among their
small and medium enterprises through technology transfer and joint ventures,
business alliances. Both sides recognised the need to provide support to each
other's start-ups in accordance with their initiatives and programmes.
“We are aware that there lie immense opportunities
for cooperation in the MSME sector between India and Korea. The small and
medium business units from both countries can learn a lot from each other,” Mr
Giriraj Singh said.
The
press released noted that the India-Korea Technology Exchange Centre also aims
to identify Indian technologies that have the potential to be exported to Korea
and find suitable Korean partners for the same. The Centre will be able to
initiate various cooperative MSME projects complimenting each other’s strengths
in MSME sector, create Technology Data Banks from both countries to encourage
technology transfers, produce high-quality products in India and encourage
joint ventures and business matching between Indian and Korean SMEs.
Mr
Hong Jong-haak said that Korea has a strong industrial base with well-developed
small and medium enterprises (SME) sector, especially in advanced manufacturing
technologies such as machinery & equipment, electronics, electrical
machinery & equipment and robotics; the SMEs of both the countries can
learn from each other to enhance their comparative advantages and be able to
compete in the global market.
Dr Arun Kumar Panda, MSME
Secretary, said that in today’s competitive environment, is
it important to share the comparative advantage of MSMEs of different countries
and that Indian MSMEs are very competitive in sectors like auto-components,
drugs and pharmaceuticals, IT biotechnology, agro and food
processing.
The Technology Exchange Centre has been established at the National
Small Industries Corporation premises in New Delhi.