MSME-DNC, Leh holds ‘National Level Workshop’ under PMS to promote MSMEs

National-level seminar brings 120 participants together with GeM, NSIC, BIS, QCI, DGFT, SIDBI and CPSUs

LEH: The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), through its Development Nucleus Cell (DNC), Leh, organised a national-level workshop on the Procurement and Marketing Support (PMS) Scheme here on Tuesday, seeking to strengthen awareness among local MSMEs, entrepreneurs, artisans and other stakeholders about government support, public procurement, quality certification, export promotion and institutional finance.

Held at the Conference Hall of the Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), the workshop brought together around 120 participants and representatives of key government agencies, Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs) and financial institutions. The programme was aimed at providing local enterprises with greater access to government schemes and market-linkage opportunities.

Commissioner Secretary, Industries & Commerce Department, UT Ladakh, Himanshu Gupta, IAS, attended the programme as the chief guest, while Director, Industries & Commerce Department, Ladakh, Sonam Nurboo, JKAS, and Director (E&S), Planning, Development & Monitoring Department, Tsewang Gyalson, were the Guests of Honour.

In his welcome address, Amit Kumar Tamaria, IEDS, Joint Director/Head of Office, MSME-DFO Jammu, outlined the objectives of the workshop and the importance of enabling MSMEs to make better use of government procurement and marketing support mechanisms.

A major focus of the workshop was on helping local enterprises understand the institutional mechanisms through which they can access larger markets. Technical sessions covered the Procurement and Marketing Support Scheme and other MSME schemes, GeM onboarding, public procurement and vendor registration, BIS certification, export promotion, quality standards, packaging and financial schemes.

Mohammad Maqbol Shah, Senior Consultant, GeM, J&K and Ladakh, explained the GeM onboarding process, while Himanshu Vashishtha, Deputy General Manager, NSIC, dealt with public procurement and vendor registration. The sessions were particularly relevant for local enterprises seeking to enter government procurement channels and expand beyond traditional local markets.

The workshop also focused on compliance and quality enhancement. Avijat Paul, Senior Scientist/Assistant Director, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), made a presentation on BIS certification, while Arif Ahmed, Consultant, Quality Council of India (QCI), addressed participants on Zero Defect Zero Effect (ZED), Quality Control Orders (QCOs) and the Public Procurement Policy.

Export opportunities were covered by Manjeet Bhatoya, Joint DGFT, through a virtual session, while Parvinder Malik, Deputy General Manager, PowerGrid, provided information on procurement and vendor-registration opportunities with the public sector utility.

The programme also included sessions on packaging, delivered virtually by Dr Tanvir Alam, Additional Director, Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP), New Delhi, and SIDBI schemes, presented by Dheeraj Varma, DGM, SIDBI, providing participants with information on financial and market-readiness aspects of enterprise development.

Representatives from NSIC, QCI, BIS, KVIC, DGFT, SIDBI, PowerGrid, GeM and IIP participated in the workshop, giving MSMEs an opportunity to directly engage with institutions involved in procurement, certification, finance and market access.

An open-house discussion and question-and-answer session was also held, during which participants sought clarifications on government schemes, procurement procedures, certification requirements, financing, export promotion and market-linkage opportunities.

The workshop assumes significance for Ladakh’s emerging enterprise ecosystem, where improved access to government procurement and institutional markets could provide local businesses with opportunities beyond the region’s relatively limited traditional markets. Greater awareness of certification, quality standards and digital procurement platforms such as GeM could also help MSMEs position themselves for wider markets.

The programme concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Vinu Jee Koul, Assistant Director, MSME-DFO Jammu.