International MSME conference held at Imphal

Imphal: The International MSME Conference in NER-2022 was held at Hotel Classic Grande, Imphal with Textiles, Commerce and Industry minister Nemcha Kipgen as chief guest at the inaugural session.

The conference was organised by Federation of Industry and Commerce of North Eastern Region (FINER) with the support of MSME Development Institute Imphal, Government of India and Department of Commerce and Industries, Government of Manipur.

Such a conference gives an opportunity for the state to showcase its distinct industries, and cultural heritage in the forms of handloom and textiles, handicrafts and unique food products. The local entrepreneurs of Manipur will get the opportunity to adopt the best practices from other parts of the world and adapt it for the materials and resources available here, the minister said.

She highlighted the example of the state’s richness in terms of bio resources by citing that there are 55 species of bamboo that grows in Manipur which can be utilized in various forms such as food, textile, composites and handicrafts. She continued that Manipur is also rich in its biodiversity, producing many aromatic and medicinal plants, all of which are organic and can serve as a new destination for pharmaceutical industries.

Unlike many parts of the Northeast, Manipur is fortunate to have a potential to be the gateway to ASEAN and with the improvement in infrastructure will serve as an important import- export hub for the Northeast region, she added.

The minister called for the need to realize that food processing, handloom & handicrafts is an industry which the state and NER as a whole can heavily rely on to boost its economy. Development of these industries means generation of jobs and better livelihood for the people of the region, Nemcha said.

The basic objective of this conference is to provide opportunities to MSMEs in Manipur to update themselves to meet the challenges emerging from changes in technology, changes in demand, and emergence of new markets, president for FINER, Bajrang Lohia said. He said technology infusion and/or upgradation of Indian micro, small and medium enterprises are the need of the hour.

During the technical session, a presentation on various topics namely current industrial scenario of Manipur, AgriTech, MSME of NER, Bamboo Technology and Opportunities of Bhutan with NER was delivered by L. Ibetombi Devi, Manager, NSIC, Government of India, Yasuo Taniguchi, CEO – Long Term Industrial Development Co.Ltd. (Japan), CS. Sudha Sarma, Partner, Mamta Binani and Associates, Assam, Marie Wakino, Administration and Marketing Officer – Long Term Industrial Development Co.Ltd. (Japan), Ru Yi Ong, Advisor – Taiwan Technical Textile Association (Taiwan) and Pema CHoki, Chairperson, Bumthang.

Luckyson Kashung, additional secretary, department of Trade, Commerce and Industries, Government of Manipur, Joel Haokip, MD, MFICL also graced the inaugural session.