The small-scale industries (SSI) produce about 8000 products, contribute 40% of the industrial output and offer the largest employment after agriculture. The sector, therefore, presents an opportunity to the nation to harness local competitive advantages for achieving global dominance. In recognition of these aspects, the National Common Minimum Programme makes the following declarations for accelerating the development of small-scale sector.

2.1 Government policy as well as credit policy has so far concentrated on manufacturing units in the small-scale sector. The lowering of trade barriers across the globe has increased the minimum viable scale of enterprises. The size of the unit and technology employed for firms to be globally competitive is now of a higher order. The definition of small-scale sector needs to be revisited and the policy should consider inclusion of services and trade sectors within its ambit. In keeping with global practice,. there is also a need to broaden the current concept of the sector and include the medium enterprises in a composite sector of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). A comprehensive legislation, which would enable the paradigm shift from small-scale industry to small and medium enterprises under consideration of Parliament. The Reserve Bank of India, had meanwhile set up an Internal Group which has recommended:

"Current SSI/tiny industries definition may continue. Units with investment in plant and machinery in excess of SSI limit and up to Rs.10 crore may be treated as Medium Enterprises (ME). The definition may be reviewed after enactment of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Bill. Only SSI financing will be included in Priority Sector."

2.3. The challenges being faced by the small and medium scale sector may be briefly set out as follows-

a. Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), particularly the tiny segment of the small enterprises have inadequate access to finance due to lack of financial information and non-formal business practices. SMEs also lack access to private equity and venture capital and have a very limited access to secondary market instruments.

b.SMEs face fragmented markets in respect of their inputs as well as products and are vulnerable to market fluctuations.

c.SMEs lack easy access to inter-state and international markets.

d.The access of SMEs to technology and product innovations is also limited. There is lack of awareness of global best practices.

e.SMEs face considerable delays in the settlement of dues/payment of bills by the large scale buyers.

3.2 Public Sector Banks will be advised to follow a transparent rating system with cost of credit being linked to the credit rating of the enterprise.

3.3 SIDBI in association with Credit Information Bureau(India) Ltd. (CIBIL)will expedite setting up a credit rating agency.

3.4 SIDBI in association with Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) would collect and poo common data on risk in each identified cluster and develop an IT-enabled application, appraisal and monitoring system for small (including tiny) enterprises. This would help reduce transaction cost as well as improve credit flow to small (including tiny) enterprises in the clusters.

3.5 The National Small Industries Corporation has recently introduced a Credit Rating Scheme for encouraging SSI units to get themselves credit rated by reputed credit rating agencies. Public Sector Banks will be advised to consider these ratings appropriately and as per availability, and structure their rates suitably.

3.6 SIDBI has developed a Credit Appraisal & Rating Tool (CART) as well as a Risk Assessment Model (RAM) and a comprehensive rating model for risk assessment of credit proposals for SMEs. Public sector banks will be advised to take advantage of these models as appropriate and reduce their transaction costs.

The commercial banks (including regional rural banks) with over 67,000 branches, will make concerted efforts to provide credit cover on an average to at least 5 new tiny,small and medium enterprises at each of their semi urban/urban branches per year.

Reserve Bank will issue detailed guidelines relating to debt restructuring mechanism so as to ensure restructuring of debt of all eligible small and medium enterprises at terms which are not less favourable than the Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR) mechanism in the banking sector. The restructuring would follow upon a request to that effect from the borrowing unit. All accounts, except those classified as ‘loss assets’ will be eligible for restructuring, provided the industrial units are viable or potentially viable.

Based on the Reserve Bank’s guidelines, banks may formulate, with the approval of their Boards of Directors, more liberal policies relating to restructuring of accounts. Until the banks formulate their own policies, Reserve Bank’s guidelines will be operative.

A one-time settlement scheme to apply to small-scale NPA accounts in the books of the banks as on March 31, 2004 will be introduced.The scheme will be in force upto March 31, 2006

Cluster based approach for financing SME sector offers possibilities of reduction of transaction costs and mitigation of risk. About 388 clusters have already been identified. Cluster based approach now be treated as a thrust area. Banks will increasingly adopt the cluster-based approach for SME financing. To broaden the financing options for infrastructure development in clusters through public private partnership, SIDBI will formulate a scheme in consultation with the stakeholders.

SIDBI has already initiated the process of establishing Small Enterprises Financial Centres in select clusters. Risk profile of each cluster would be studied by a professional credit rating agency and such risk profile reports would be made available to commercial banks. Each lead bank of a district will consider adoption of atleast one cluster

The following supervisory arrangements will be ensured:

a. The existing institutional arrangements for review of credit to SSI sector like the Standing Advisory Committee in Reserve Bank of India and cells at the banks’ head office level as well as at important regional centres will be made more rigorous and regular. They will also review the flow of credit to small (SSI) and medium enterprises.

b. At the Regional offices, the Reserve Bank will constitute empowered committees with the Regional Director of the Reserve Bank as the Chairman to review the progress in SME financing and rehabilitation of sick small (SSI) and medium units and to coordinate with other banks/financial institutions and the state governments in removing bottlenecks, if any, to ensure smooth flow of credit to the sector. The said Regional level committees may decide on the need to have similar committees at cluster/district levels.

c. The banks will ensure specialized SME branches in identified clusters/centres with preponderance of small enterprises to enable the entrepreneurs to have easy access to the bank credit and to equip bank personnel to develop requisite expertise. The existing specialised SSI branches may be also be redesignated as SME branches.

d. Boards of banks will be advised to review the progress in achieving the self-set targets as also rehabilitation and restructuring of SME accounts on a quarterly basis to ensure that the required emphasis is given to this sector.

e.For wider dissemination and easy accessibility, the policy guidelines formulated by Boards of banks as well as instructions/guidelines issued by Reserve Bank will be displayed on the respective websites of Public Sector Banks as well as website of SIDBI. The banks would also be advised to prominently display all the facilities/schemes offered by them to the small entrepreneurs at each of their branches.