IT & HRD Minister Nara Lokesh has exhorted the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to use the government only as a springboard in order not to be dependent on it for “life support,” and instead explore the exciting opportunities awaiting them to grow to the next level.

These opportunities include listing on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Emerge platform that would enable them to tap the capital markets, Mr. Lokesh said on Wednesday, while pointing out that listing on the bourses would give them tremendous scope to thrive. 

Participating as chief guest in a seminar on ‘SME IPO & Listing Opportunities’, jointly organised by the NSE, A.P. MSME Development Corporation and the CII here, Mr. Lokesh said the government was running after corporate giants like Google and ArcelorMittal and succeeded in garnering about 25% of all investments made in India, but building a whole business ecosystem around them would not be possible without the MSMEs playing a major supportive role in it.

Mr. Lokesh noted that the government targeted to create 20 lakh jobs in both the public and private sectors in five years, and it was working in a mission mode to achieve it, largely aided by the restoration of ‘Brand A.P.’ in the last 23 months. About 800 key projects involving a total investment of ₹23 lakh crore with a potential to provide 24 lakh jobs were being personally tracked, he stated.

Further, Mr. Lokesh said, as the Google Data Centre came to Visakhapatnam and another huge data centre project was set to be cleared by the Cabinet, global air-conditioning company Carrier made huge investment in a manufacturing facility in Sri City. This was the sort of multiplier effect that was required to make Andhra Pradesh a manufacturing hub.

Referring to the IPOs, Mr. Lokesh said only three Visakhapatnam-based MSMEs figured in the 720-plus companies listed on NSE Emerge, and efforts should be made to increase that number to at least 100 in 12 months, and suggested to the MSME associations to form a working group for resolving issues and assured them that the government would deliver its best.

NSE MD & CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan said India needed to create 15 to 20 million jobs every year for the coming 20 to 25 years to propel the economy to a higher growth trajectory, but it would not be possible without the contribution of the MSMEs. He observed that the MSMEs could convert their incomes into wealth by listing on the NSE Emerge, and insisted that they should aspire to grow at exponential rates.

Companies could raise as low as ₹2 crore from the markets, he said, informing that the 720-odd companies listed on the NSE raised ₹21,000 crore in the last 14 years, but their market capitalisation stood at a staggering ₹2.30 lakh crore. Businesses could look at venture capital, private equity and angel funding, but tapping the capital markets was the best way to raise funds, he asserted.

Mr. Chauhan said, as on date, the NSE had 13 crore unique investors, up from 1.67 crore when Narendra Modi took reins as the Prime Minister. He called for one listing from every house and requested Mr. Lokesh that the government should consider listing municipal bonds on the NSE. The NSE, he added, had an investor service centre in Vijayawada and it intended to connect to every town in the State in the due course.