Information Technology “As the key solutions to transforming MSMEs Future”

No.PR-210 August 18, 2020 New Delhi Information Technology “As the key solutions to transforming MSMEs Future” The Uttar Pradesh Chapter of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) organized a Virtual Conference with Shri Ajit Singh Pal, Hon’ble State Minister, Electronics & Information Technology, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh on “Role of Information technology in transforming MSMEs future during COVID-19″ in association with APV India Pvt. Ltd. on 18th August 2020. The objective of the Webinar was to focus on promoting and boosting investment in various Software Solutions by MSMEs in Uttar Pradesh. The interactive webinar on Role of Information Technology in transforming MSMEs future during COVID-19 also aimed to emphasize the need of IT to strengthen the bottom line, competitiveness and growth of the MSMEs in the State. The Chief dignitaries of the session included Shri Ajit Singh Pal, Hon’ble State Minister, Electronics & Information Technology, Uttar Pradesh; Mr. Alok Kumar, lAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Deptt. of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of Uttar Pradesh; Mr. Navneet Sehgal, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Deptt. of MSME, Khadi & Village Industries, Government of Uttar Pradesh; Mr. Manoj Gaur, Chair, UP State Chapter, PHDCCI; Mr. Gaurav Prakash, Co-Chair, UP State Chapter, PHDCCI; Mr. Vijay Kumar Chopra, CEO, APV India Pvt Ltd. and his key team members, Mr. Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary General, PHDCCI; Dr. Ranjeet Mehta, Principal Director, PHDCCI & Mr. Atul Srivastava, Resident Director, UP State Chapter, PHDCC. In his introductory remarks, Mr. Manoj Gaur Chair, UP State Chapter, PHDCCI after welcoming all the dignitaries gracefully shed light on how MSMEs can thrive in their businesses by incorporating Information Technology in their day to day operations and also expressed that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to a halt, with most people forced to stay and work in their homes due to government-enforced quarantines and lockdowns. In no other time in modern history has access to the internet been as important a form of communication to the average person. He said that platforms like Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Tencent Meeting are now household names, proving that digital technology is at the forefront of the so-called “new normal.” Therefore, Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) needs to bring their businesses online with the use of Information Technology. He concluded by stating that the Department of IT & Electronics Uttar Pradesh is also the guiding force for other departments of the state for the usage and deployment of IT for their benefits and benefits of their consumers. It provides technical support to other government departments through the corporations/societies that come under the purview of the department. Mr. Vijay K Chopra, CEO, APV India Private Limited stated that in this age of industry 4.0 when AI, Data Analytics, Machine learning and Cloud Computing were becoming popular, the adoption of IT by MSMES in India was far from satisfactory. Top Management of MSMES will have to realize this and adopt IT tools before it is too late. IT will not only improve their bottom lines but will be a necessary step towards globalization. Mr. Chopra also suggested that the role of the State Governments and the Credit agencies will be crucial for making the MSMES adopt IT as quickly as possible. Mr. Chopra also informed about the indigenous IT tools they had developed by deploying part of their revenues towards their development APV’s key members displayed various tools that in the areas of ERP, Digital Marketing, Education Sector, Cloud and remote IT management for the MSMES. He emphasized that it would have been impossible to survive in the global export market had not used these tools to manage their operations as MSME. Mr. Pradeep Gaur, Vice President, APV- India Pvt Ltd discussed about the key role and importance of information technology for the MSME’s in UP. He said Uttar Pradesh is the fourth largest state in India and has the largest population and therefore it’s a big and full of opportunities and has many advantages in terms of computerization and attracting investment in marketing of products through channels like Facebook, WhatsApp , YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, E-mail connectivity advantages with Industrial Corridors, skilled manpower, proactive Governance, ease of doing business etc. He also shed light on the importance of Digital Marketing/Internet Marketing in the evolution of MSMEs and also discussed the important role played by advertising platforms like Google, Facebook, YouTube etc. where anyone can get benefitted by mass clients and queries in order to succeed and touch new heights in their businesses. Mr. Arun Srivastava, Sr. Project Manager, APV- India Pvt Ltd shed light on the innovative software solutions APV India is providing to its clients and by the use of which many manual processes which took a lot of time earlier are not done in just minutes with a few mouse clicks. He also informed that APV India is working and making software solutions in the areas like Attendance Management, HRIS software Processes like recruitment and payroll management, Accounts processes etc. and in many other areas which can really do wonders and fetch accurate results and reports within no time. He concluded by stating that APV India Pvt. Ltd. is also working on vast range of software services for the Education and Institutional Industry. Mr. Amit Tiwari, System Administrator, APV- India Pvt Ltd informed about the importance of Technologies in the current State of pandemic for not only for MSMEs but for almost every walk of life. He also stated that APV India is constantly working to improve its technologies based on its customer’s needs and that too in its agile development workflow; he also shed light on the Technological solutions APV India is working upon like Application development tools, cloud solutions, operating systems, framework & libraries, databases, web technologies, testing tools & programming languages. Mr. Alok Kumar, lAS Additional Chief Secretary, Deptt. of Electronics and Information Technology Government of Uttar Pradesh thanked PHDCCI for this timely intervention as well as taking this initiative of discussing the importance of Information Technology which plays a pivotal role in almost all the domains in this time of pandemic. Mr. Kumar also said that Uttar Pradesh offers enormous possibilities of enterprise and success, it is the biggest emerging market in India and the Government is determined to continuously improve industry-conducive climate. He said that MSMEs not only contribute significantly in the GDP of the Nation but also plays an important role in attracting Foreign investments in the State since lots of Foreign Investors are looking forth to seek the support or local partners in setting-up their Industry Units in the State. He also said that under the new definition MSMEs now, many big corporate houses are also falling under the MSME domain and they can also avail the benefits under the MSMEs schemes and incentives provided by the Government. Mr. Kumar also informed that new Start-up policy 2020 has also been notified and shall come out very soon which includes lots of support and encouragement for Startups as well as incubation centers across the State. He also informed that under the new policy there is a window of up to Rs. 5 Lakhs as marketing assistance to MSMEs. He said that the department of IT & Electronics is also working hands in hand with SIDBI to facilitate venture capital funding for new startups and MSMEs. Mr. Kumar also shed light of Common Service Centre 3.0 which shall be launched very soon where emphasis would be given on Business to Citizen Services liberally and MSMEs will be benefitted greatly by these CSCs 3.0. He also said the State Government is also focusing on the Broadband Mission whereby the Broadband infrastructure of the State will be improved and the broadband connectivity will be facilitated even in the rural areas by which the MSMEs there can also be benefitted by the technological solutions in their businesses. He also shed light on the Electronics Systems Design and Manufacturing Policy where significant heed is being given on the design and manufacturing part of the MSMEs and he said that Public Sector Undertakings of the State like UPDESCO and UPLC can be contacted by the desirous MSMEs to seek the services and also better their design and manufacturing needs. He concluded by urging PHDCCI to crystallize the IT needs and services sought by their member MSMEs and present them to the Department of IT & Electronics so that the department can facilitate them with the best services available. Mr. Navneet Sehgal, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Deptt of MSME, Khadi & Village Industries, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh in his brief yet distinguished remarks shed the light on the important role the Technology is playing now-a-days in our day to day lives. He informed that with the help of Information Technology now, almost all the District Industries Centre (DICs) are online now and can facilitating any desirous MSME within 72 hours after the successful filing of the pro-forma by the MSME online to the DIC. He also said that most of the Government Schemes for the MSMEs and other units are posted online now and can be read and availed benefits-of online with just a few clicks of computer mouse. He concluded by stating that with the help of Information Technology, several worldwide portals are created and by the help of which MSMEs of the State can be connected globally to the entire World and also the MSMEs abroad to avail any services or to gather any information globally. He thanked PHDCCI for having this platform organized under this need of hour. In his Keynote address Shri Ajit Singh Pal, Hon’blle State Minister, It & Electronics, Uttar Pradesh expressed grief over the sudden demise of the Hon’ble Ministers of Uttar Pradesh Late Shri Chetan Chauhan Ji & Late Smt. Kamal Rani Varun Ji due to Corona Virus. The minister also shed light on the importance of social distancing, facial masks and other safety measures to avoid the further spread of the deadly COVID-19. He said that with the optimum use of Information Technology, the MSMEs will transform the country into a New India where IT will play an important role that will lead India as a major player in the Global Economic Competition. He also said that MSMEs of the State, apart from being the backbone of the Country’s Economy are the major employment generators for the State and also contributes more than 30% in the Nation’s Economy assisting the Country to emerge as the world’s fastest growing economy. He also mentioned that MSMEs employs more than 12 Crore of the citizens of the Country. He concluded by appreciating the Stimulus package worth Rs. 20 Lakh Crore recently announced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister for the revival and support of the COVID affected economy of the Country. Mr. Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary General, PHDCCI in his special address informed that PHDCCI has a huge membership base of more than 1,50,000 members and out of which 70% happens to be MSMEs, with over 115 years of existence, the Chamber is committed to work hands in hand with the Government to encourage and work for the betterment of these Industries in order to turn India into the favoured and ideal destination for Industrialization and investment. Mr. Sanyal appreciated the wonderful work the Government of Uttar Pradesh is doing for the revival of Industries even at this time of turbulence and he also urged the Hon’ble Minister to support the MSMEs of the State with all the feasible services so that the State continues to be a major contributor in the National Economy. Mr. Gaurav Prakash, Co-Chair, Uttar Pradesh State Chapter, PHDCCI gave the formal vote of thanks and appreciated the presence of all the dignitaries who spared their valuable time for this meaningful webinar session. He said that PHDCCI in the span of 115 years of its existence is constantly serving the Industries with the best of its services by working at the grass-root level and with strong national and international linkages. He said that PHDCCI is acting as a catalyst in the promotion of industry, trade and entrepreneurship over several decades. He mentioned special thanks to the Hon’ble Minister Shri Ajit Pal Singh Ji and both the Additional Chief Secretaries – Shri Alok Kumar Ji & Shri Navneet Sehgal Ji for coming up for this webinar and sharing their valuable insights with all the attendees. Mr. Prakash thanked APV India Pvt. Ltd. for supporting this virtual conference. Dr. Ranjeet Mehta, Principal Director, PHDCCI excellently moderated the entire web-session and took questionnaire from the audiences to the panelists. The Interactive Webinar was well at tended by more than 300 participants comprising of Entrepreneurs, IT Professionals, Government Representatives, Startup Enterprises, Senior Industrialists, academicians, policy makers and other stakeholders working in this area. Ends Media Division PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry