Micro and Small Scale Enterprises and Textiles
Micro & Small Scale Enterprises, Handloom, Powerloom and Sericulture are the sectors that play a pivotal role in the overall industrial economy of the State. Concerted effort is the need of the hour for further growth and realization of the enormous potential of these sectors. The state government is fully committed to this.

MSE sector saw setting up of 22,627 new enterprises during May 2011 and March 2013 as compared to 7804 during April 2009 and March 2011. These enterprises have provided employment to 2,07,289 people as compared to only 51,319 people during April 2009 and March 2011. During the same period proposal for setting up 20,151 enterprises has been received by the Department. 1,59,217 people are supposed to get direct/indirect employment through these enterprises.

More than 8,000 potential entrepreneurs have been given EDP training during May 2011 and March 2013 as compared to 3,220 in the preceding two years.

Under PMEGP 10,886 enterprises have been sanctioned with combined project cost of Rs 383 crore. Once operational, these units will provide employment to about 86,000 people.

Rs. 116 crore was disbursed during the period to micro and small enterprises as incentive under the state government's incentive programme as compared to Rs. 65 crore only in the preceding two years.

Under Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP) the number of clusters have increased from 26 in 2010-11 to 48 till March 2013. 17 new clusters have been approved for undertaking soft interventions. Another 6 clusters have started the hard intervention of setting up Common Facility Centre. Hard interventions will start in 10 more clusters during 2013-14. A new project, Natural Fibre Mission (NFM) for fibre-based enterprises in the state has been launched in 2012 with a total project cost of Rs 257 crores. Spread over 11 backward districts of the state the project will provide skill development and tool kit package to more than 17,000 artisans engaged in fibre-based enterprises. 8 Common Facility Centres (CFC) / Common Production Centres (CPC) are being set up in the districts to help the small entrepreneurs. 25 acres of land has been acquired in the Vidyasagar Industrial Estate in Kharagpur to set up a Common Natural Fibre Centre (CNFC) under the project with a project cost of Rs 40 crore. To give a boost to the silk industry of the state, an integrated Silk Park is being set up at Malda with a project cost of Rs 40 crores. Land development work has already started for this Park. Facilities will be set up in this Park to provide post cocoon and post yarn support to the small entrepreneurs of this sector.

Aimed at providing major marketing window of international standard to the entrepreneurs of micro and small sector with focus on handicraft and textiles, a Biswa Khudra Silpa Bazar is being set up at Shantiniketan over an area of 50 acres.

To provide marketing facilities to the handicraft artisans, Urban Haats are being set up at Durgapur, Siliguri, Bolpur and Kolkata. Durgapur Haat has become functional in 2012. The other Haats would be operationalized within 2013-14. Similarly, 4 Rural Haats are being set-up with the same purpose. Located at Bishnupur, Purulia, Jhargram and Alipurduar these Haats are also expected to be operational during 2013-14.

The Department facilitated participation of more than 12,500 artisans in 26 state level, 13 national level and 3 international handicraft fairs where a total sale/order procured was to the tune of Rs 65 crore.

3,87,496 handicraft artisans were provided identity cards during this period.

A district-wise Resource Directory for micro and small enterprises has been developed through physical survey. The Directory contains all necessary details for each mouza of the state in terms of raw material and infrastructure available, existing financial institutions, power availability, water bodies, nature of land and available land, road infrastructure, running enterprises and potential industries that can be set up. Once put on web this Directory will provide all these details to public on the click of a mouse.

A comprehensive Handloom Development Project with a project cost of Rs 46 crores and covering 11,153 weavers has been taken up in Dakshin Dinajpur district. Skill development and tool kit distribution involving Rs 5 crore was taken during 2012-13 under this project. The Handloom Cluster Project which started in 2008-09 with 28 clusters, covers 39 clusters in 2012-13.

297 Weavers Cooperatives & 1407 individual weavers were covered during the period under Revival, Reform & Restructuring package for handloom sector involving Rs 24 crores.

To facilitate access to credit by small weavers Credit Cards were issued to 4966 weavers. Using this facility these weavers could access Rs 11crore Bank Loan.

3,81,734 Weavers' families have been covered under the Health Insurance Scheme upto 2012-13. About 6700 artisans were covered under the Old Age Pension Scheme and 43,000 covered under MG Bunkar Bima Yojna. A Handloom office and weaver's training centre was set up in Kurseong. Marketing Incentive involving Rs 18 crores has been disbursed to primary and apex cooperative societies in the handloom sector.

Tantuja's sales increased to average Rs 75 crore per annum during the period as against an average of Rs 50 crore during the preceding two years.

In the sericulture sector, 4555 acres of land have been brought under the extension scheme which has generated employment to 26,960 people during 2011-2013. Infrastructure upgradation work worth Rs 11 crore has been taken up for sericulture farms. Significant increase in the consumption of Tasar disease free laying has been achieved in the Jangal Mahal area of the state. Added to this is successful harvest of crops (50-55 cocoons per laying) which led to increase in remunerative price of cocoons ranging from Rs 1800 to Rs 2400 which is among the highest remuneration country-wide. On the lines of Silk Bandhu, Tasar Bandhu scheme has been launched in this area to assist farmers as Resource Persons for all farm activities related to sericulture. 2,31,202 village industry units and 312 khadi units are operational in the state providing employment to 14 lakh and 73,000 people respectively.

Infrastructure of 27 Industrial Estates (IE) has been upgraded during the period involving Rs 12 crore. Rs 13 crore is being spent for upgrading the IE of Durgapur and Udayan. Fire safety systems will be set up in 9 IEs of Kolkata in 2013-14 involving Rs 6 crore.

With focus on jute, readymade garments, agro processing and light engineering the Industrial Estate at Rezinagar, Murshidabad is supposed to be available to the industry within 2013-14. Being set up over an area of 183 acres with an infrastructure cost of Rs 66 crores, it will provide around 1200 plots to these industries. Similarly another IE will get operational within 2013-14 at Ambari-Falakata in Jalpaiguri. Potential industries that will use the 700 plots in this Rs 36 crore, 118 acre IE include agro processing, wood and cane furniture, processing of forest produce, storage battery and food processing.