A two day International Conference deliberating upon critical issues faced by Small and Medium Enterprises began today at Gian Jyoti Institute of Management and Technology at their Mohali Campus. Titled, “SMEs in Transitional Economies: Challenges & Opportunities”, was second such international conference organised at GJ-IMT and focused on the socio economic and managerial issues faced by small and medium enterprises in the developing and underdeveloped countries of the world. The conference saw enthusiastic participation with more than 100 management practitioners, research professionals and the academia from countries like The Netherlands, England, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and distinguished organizations from India deliberating on the issue. The inaugural ceremony was presided over by Mr. T L Easwar, President, Mohali Industries Association and Vice President, A.P.I manufacturing, Ranbaxy. He was accompanied by Mr. J.K. Menon, Managing Director, DCM Engineering Ltd. and Padma Shree Sh. Chandra Mohan, Member, Board of Governors, Punjab Technical University and Shri R. C Chopra, Director, MSME development Institute, Ministry of MSME, Govt. of India.
The proceedings began with the traditional lamp lighting by the dignitaries followed by a panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities faced by SMEs. The panel comprising of Mr. T. L. Easwar, Mr. J. K. Menon and Sh. Chandra Mohan delved into the intricate nature of the challenges faced by SMEs and the plethora of opportunities for them. Mr. T. L. Easwar discussed the role of SMEs as the drivers of equitable and sustainable growth in transitional economies. He prescribed increased market orientation of SMEs for success. Mr. J. K. Menon raised the importance of industry – academia partnership as a driver of change for SMEs. He said that in this era of globalisation, the business environment had become very competitive and required SMEs to take swift, decisive and radical steps to survive and thrive. Sh. Chadra Mohan touched upon the need for innovation and quality consciousness among the SMEs to allow them to effectively compete and harvest the fruits of the opportunities in front of them. Sh R. C Chopra underlined the consistent focus of Government policies towards the sustainable development of SMEs in the country. He cited the various development efforts including cluster development initiatives at various locations.
Mr. Ramanjit Singh, coordinator of the conference explained the significance of the topic especially to countries like India. He said that the sustainable growth of the Indian economy needed the SMEs to be on board the growth story. Welcoming the delegates and guests, Dr. Vimal Kumar Aggarwal expressed his happiness at the response. He said that the important nature of the issues under deliberation required intense and incisive examination of all possible variables. Dr. Aggarwal expressed his confidence that the high quality of papers and rich experience of the participants would generate actionable results for the SMEs in India and other transitional economies.
Mr. J. S. Bedi, Chairman, GJ-IMT thanked the delegates for participating and sharing their valuable research with others. He said that the second international conference was another humble attempt by GJ-IMT to discharge its responsibility of generating knowledge and driving positive change in the industry and society.
The inaugural ceremony was followed by tea and sessions of deliberations on various issues that extended late into the evening.