India and US launch SME forum

In a major boost to the SME sector growth in US and India, both the countries joined hands and have launched Indo-US Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Forum to help generate more investments, leading to economic growth and development in this segment. The move is aimed at further strengthening the bilateral co-operation between the two countries ahead of US President Barrack Obama's visit to India in November.

During the inaugural meeting representatives from both sides spoke about the huge potential that SME segment possesses, the ways the sector can be expanded and how SME can mutually benefit both the countries and explore ways of promoting innovation in the industry.

Both the parties further discussed and tried to find out various trade, investment and collaborative business opportunities.

In US, there are about 3.7 million manufacturers operating and only 27 per cent of these manufacturers benefit from exports. In India, though the SME sector provides employment to almost 60 million people, making it the largest source of employment after the agriculture segment but it majorly lacks investments and is not able to market themselves on a large scale.