PUNE Two years since the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the world, recovery of micro enterprises in Pune remains far from satisfactory. It has adversely affected Pune’s industry scenario as only a few Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) were registered in Maharashtra during 2021-22 , according to the state Economic Survey.
Last year, Pune topped in terms of employment generation, investment in MSMEs, however, this year, it has dropped to the second position. In 2020-2021, 2,359,000 people received employment.
In 2021-2022, Konkan topped the list by generating employment for 1,365,000 people. While in Pune district 1,052,000 people got employment.
Government of India has launched Udyam Registration Portal for MSMEs registration from July 1, 2020. According to a portal in Pune district, 857,000 people got employment in micro enterprises, 131,000 in small enterprises and 64,000 in medium enterprises. Udyam registration helps the enterprise to avail government benefits which makes it eligible for priority sector lending from banks. All existing registered enterprises have to register on this portal. It is a one time registration on the portal for one or more than one activity of the MSME.
Sudhir Mehta, president, Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), said, “Personally, I feel the employment situation is good right now as most companies with whom we talk in the chamber are hiring and I think the bigger challenge is the gaps between skill needed and availability of people. Most companies feel that we are not getting the right people.”
{{/usCountry}}Sudhir Mehta, president, Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), said, “Personally, I feel the employment situation is good right now as most companies with whom we talk in the chamber are hiring and I think the bigger challenge is the gaps between skill needed and availability of people. Most companies feel that we are not getting the right people.”
{{/usCountry}}“There are two challenges which are faced by companies, Firstly, most people have studied online due to Covid, and it is not the most appropriate mechanism. Second challenge is what companies need and what employers convey so I don’t think there is a challenge of employment. What I think is there is a challenge of having the right skill set,” added Mehta.
“Last year was an aberration because the contact industries were doing poorly. Sometimes, people were hesitating to hire because they were not sure whether there will be other Covid waves. They were reluctant to hire full time and they were working with fewer people, working with more over time rather than increasing their permanent employment,” Mehta said.
Sandeep Belsare, president, Pimpri-Chinchwad small-scale industries association said, “Due to Covid impact, many of the industries were not able to generate new employment, whereas many companies have reduced production due to increase in cost of raw material. In the coming year, employment generation is expected to increase as the market is opening completely.”