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G. Srinivasan

Small manufacturers are determined to take giant steps to be part of the globalisation process, and they are doing so on their own terms too.

They are not big manufacturers or exporters who enjoy exemption from taxes or levies; nor are they the parvenu of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) who command the largesse of the States. They are the small entrepreneurs driven by a desire to make a mark. They came in considerable numbers from 25 States to the Capital to display their wares — trinkets, handicrafts, delicacies, and medicinal concoctions.

As many as 350 participants, most of them women, for the first time displayed their products in the Capital at a two-week fair, earlier this month, on a marketing platform made available to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and Self-Help Groups (SHGs) by the Confederation of NGOs of Rural India (CNRI), founded by veteran socialist leader Mr Mohan Dharia.

The micro-entrepreneurs specialising in rural artifacts participated in seminars, debates and discussions by experts from Nabard, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), Exim Bank of India, and State Bank of India on how to ensure effective marketing without depending on intermediaries.

One-man industry

Tridib Mohanta from Assam is a one-man reusable bamboo cutlery industry. He put on display waresdesigned by him, priced between Rs 25 and Rs 750 per piece .

It takes him one to three days to complete one piece, depending on the design, the size and shape of the cutlery such as spoon, fork, cutting knives and chop-sticks.

He does not use artificial additives or colour preservatives. He ensures the finest hand finish by keeping intact the original natural texture of the bamboo fibre intact. With the recognition he has received from the Crafts Council of India and the President, Dr Abdul Kalam, Mohanta was able to secure an export order at the display centre. He is keen on patenting his product and setting up a bamboo cutlery-training centre at his Long Jong Village in Dibrugarh district of Assam.

The women entrepreneurs who set up stalls and participated in the event praised the apex NGO body for creating a marketing platform for them and helping them in income generation and economic empowerment.

The CNRI Co-Chairman, Mr L. V. Saptharishi, who is a retired civil servant, said that his organisation would take equity stake in the proposed export marketing organisation to be set up by the Exim Bank exclusively for the products of NGOs/SHGs so that small entrepreneurs get reasonable price for their efforts.

The Exim Bank is putting on display some of the products of micro-entrepreneurs in the India Day Celebration in Washington to be organised by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) today (Thursday). The small manufacturers are determined to take giant steps to be part of globalisation, but they are doing so on their own terms.

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