Low productivity a worry: Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan

Speaking at the inauguration of ‘Industrial Maintenance Expo’ at Codissia Trade Fair Complex on Friday, Pon Radhakrishnan said that productivity levels of Indian SMEs are generally low when compared to firms in developed countries.

“Absence of proper industrial maintenance practices cause frequent equipment breakdowns, which also leads to a huge loss in production and unscheduled shutdowns in plants and installations. Ineffective maintenance impacts the ability to manufacture quality products and compete with developed nations,” he said.

However, Mr Radhakrishnan said that the technological developments have provided means to eliminate unnecessary repairs, prevent catastrophic machine failures, and reduce the negative impact of the maintenance costs on the profitability of industrial firms.

Pointing out that the government is committed to create a conducive atmosphere for industries by improving revenue generation and create employment, the minister said the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the scheme for enhancement of competitiveness of the capital goods sector to boost the nation’s economy.

“Once when implemented, it would make the capital goods sector globally competitive. The gross budgetary support (GBS) from the government for the new scheme would be Rs 581.22 crore and the balance Rs 349.74 crore would be contributed by the stakeholder industries,” he said.

To provide skilled trainers to the manufacturing sector, CII has submitted a draft to the state government to form the TN Manufacturing Excellence Academy (TANME), said Mr Ravi Sam, chairman of CII. He said that the industrial export in automobile and IT sectors in Tamil Nadu is poised to grow from $3 billion to $15-20 billion in the next few years.

Shivkumar, co-chairman of the exhibition, said proper maintenance leads to better productivity, which could push the growth of the nation’s GDP significantly by another three per cent.

The NDA government is considering the possibility of reviving the sick Hindustan Photo Films at Ooty in Nilgiris, said Union minister of state for heavy industries and public enterprises Pon Radhakrishnan.

Speaking to journalists, on the sidelines of an industrial expo at Codissia Trade Fair Complex in Coimbatore on Friday, he said that the Centre has been holding discussions to decide on what needs to be done with the HPF that has been sick for many years now.

“Though no committees were formed for discussions till now, three rounds of talks were held so far on the issue,” he said. The minister also said that the Vishakapatnam-Chennai Industrial corridor will be extended up to Kanyakumari. The Union government has also proposed a corridor between the industrial cities of Chennai and Bengaluru.

Replying to a query on the low turnout of voters for by the civic bypolls, the BJP leader said that that it would have been better the Tamil Nadu government had not conducted the polls at all.

“I hope at least counting of votes will be held in a fair manner,” he said. The Centre has been signing MoUs with several countries to boost the industrial growth of the nation, he said, to another query.