(a) whether the small industries in the country are facing a strong challenge/ competition from the products imported from China and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether the Government has prepared any plan to deal with this problem and help the micro and small industries in facing the said challenge;
(c) if so, the details thereof; and
(d) if not, the reasons therefor?
MINISTER OF MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SHRI KALRAJ MISHRA)
(a): Yes, Madam. Strong competition from China faced by Indian Small Industries is evident in high growth of India’s imports from China. As per information compiled from Director General of Commercial Intelligence & Statistics in respect of 8 major product groups largely manufactured by the Small Scale industries (SSIs) in India, imports from China grew at a higher rate than their respective imports from All Countries combined during 2010-11 to 2013-14. As these 8 product groups accounted for 68% of India’s total imports from China in 2013-14, a significant proportion of Indian SSIs are seen to be facing greater competition from China as compared to the rest of the World. These product groups pertain to Electrical and Electronics, Mechanical and Metallurgical products on the one hand and Chemical & Glass & Ceramics based products on the other.
(b) to (d): Government has been implementing various schemes/programmes to deal with this problem and help the micro and small industries for effectively competing with imports from China and other countries. Some of these schemes/programmes include National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme (NMCP); Credit Guarantee Scheme; Credit Linked Capital subsidy Scheme; Cluster Development Programme; Market Development Assistance Scheme; and Vendor Development Programme for Ancillarisation. These schemes/ programmes help MSMEs growth, increase their competitiveness and consequently exports.
Government has also been imposing anti-dumping duties, permitted under the WTO, for restricting imports when such imports have been established as unfairly affecting the market for goods and services produced by Indian industries. Government also imposes Safeguard duties to protect domestic industries against a surge of imports from other countries. These mechanisms are operated by Directorate General of Anti Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) and Directorate General of Safeguards (DGSG) respectively.