Centre to make 30% sourcing from MSEs compulsory for multi-brand retailers

17 Feb 2012 Evaluate

The central government is planning to make it mandatory for multi brand retailers to procure 30% of their supplies from micro and small enterprises (MSEs), Union Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Minister, Virbhadra Singh said. Also the Public Procurement Policy, which is expected to be notified by the government in March, will make it mandatory for all government departments and PSUs to procure 20% of their supplies from MSEs.

Expanding further on the government’s public procurement policy, Singh stated that the Policy, which had been approved by the Cabinet on November 1, 2011, would be notified on March 6, 2012 after the assembly elections.  By adding further he said, the government will notify the Policy after state assembly poll results. The policy would be voluntary in nature for three years and made mandatory after that.

Apart from making 20% reservation for MSEs mandatory in all procurement by government departments, 4% procurement would be earmarked for SCs and STs. 'PSUs are expected to buy goods worth Rs 35,000 crore from the MSEs, of which a business of Rs 7,000 crore would go to the SCs/STs,’ the minister stated.

Further, Singh expressed his concerns about the lack of professional management in terms of core understanding of problem analysis, risk management, integrated sourcing in most of the small industries in MSME sector. He said that this lack of knowledge was keeping the MSME sector from competing in the international markets.

Hence the government was making efforts by establishing professional institutes like the Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA) School of Business Management, which he hoped would go a long way in meeting the ever increasing demand for skilled labour in the country and help create a vibrant entrepreneurial eco-system for start-ups and early stage enterprises.

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×