Ravichandran Purushothaman, Chairman, CII- Southern Region and President, Danfoss India at a fireside chat with Richa Mishra, Resident Editor, The Hindu businessline | Photo Credit: BIJOY GHOSH

“It’s all about new money for MSMEs today.” Ravichandran Purushothaman, Chairman of CII Southern Region, and President of Danfoss India’s advise to the emerging and existing entrepreneurs to “make the new money, not the old money”, generated a quick response from an engrossed audience at the MSME conclave.  

He urged not to focus on the top line, but on profit margins and cash flow and to pivot towards new technology, innovation, intellectual property and scalable business models, rather than accumulating physical assets. Purushothaman said leadership, mindset and the ability to create value through knowledge would determine whether India’s MSMEs could drive the country’s ambition of becoming a $30-trillion economy. 

In the fireside chat with Richa Mishra, Resident Editor, businessline, focusing on The Rising Cost of Business for MSMEs due to the West Asia war, he said the global crisis has exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains, but also opened new opportunities for Indian MSMEs to diversify markets, strengthen resilience and adopt new technologies.

He highlighted that despite the challenges, India’s exports had performed well over the past three months, helped by close collaboration between industry and the government, although supply chain disruptions would take time to normalise. The crisis had prompted companies to re-examine their entire value chains, including lower-tier suppliers, and identify new logistics routes. Several MSMEs had started using the deepwater port at Vizhinjam in Kerala and explored alternative transshipment hubs, such as Thailand, Singapore and Colombo, to reduce dependence on traditional routes.

rising logistics costs

The experience underscored the need to diversify both supplier and customer bases and build resilient businesses capable of withstanding future disruptions, he said.  Responding to concerns over rising logistics costs, particularly for MSMEs, Purushothaman said there was no one-size-fits-all solution. While Danfoss had passed on some price increases, it had also absorbed costs in other cases to preserve long-term supplier relationships spanning decades. Government measures such as additional credit support and faster customs clearances had helped, but companies would ultimately need to find sustainable ways to manage costs and strengthen their supply chains, he added. 

On the challenges facing MSMEs, he identified three key issues — availability of skilled manpower, rising electricity costs and uncertainty in order inflows. He urged MSMEs to invest in digital technologies, automation and energy-efficient solutions to improve productivity and operational visibility.  

Purushothaman also stressed the importance of corporate governance, listing on stock exchanges and improving cash generation, instead of chasing topline growth alone. He expressed concerns over the migration of engineering talent from Tamil Nadu, and said the State would need greater automation and vocational training to address demographic changes and labour shortages. 

Highlighting emerging opportunities, he said more MSMEs were entering sectors such as defence, electronics and electric mobility. India must move deeper into high-value manufacturing, including sensors, electronics and component ecosystems, instead of remaining focused on traditional metal-based manufacturing. He cited Coimbatore’s pump industry and Mysuru’s defence manufacturing ecosystem as examples of clusters that could evolve into globally competitive hubs by building specialised capabilities and stronger brands.

Published on June 27, 2026