Karnataka Govt inks MoU with Amazon India; to boost e-commerce and MSME sector
Government of Karnataka today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with global e-commerce giant Amazon India to help drive e-commerce exports from the state.
As part of the MoU, Amazon will train and onboard MSMEs from the state on Amazon Global Selling, its Exports Program, enabling them to sell their unique Made in India products globally to millions of Amazon customers across 200+ countries and territories.
“Karnataka has a vibrant agro, textile and garment, biotech, and toys/handicraft sectors which are held together by lakhs of MSMEs. Our partnership with Amazon India will encourage our MSMEs to leverage Amazon’s global presence and showcase their products to customers across the world, Jagadish Shettar, Large and Medium Industries Minister said during the signing of the MoU.
This is also an effort to display the strength of the state’s manufacturing and innovation prowess. Our government remains committed to making Karnataka an attractive business and investment destination, Shettar added.
Under the newly signed MoU, Amazon will conduct training, webinars and onboarding workshops for exporters from key MSME clusters like Bellary, Mysore, Channapatna and others. The workshops will focus on sharing knowledge and imparting training to MSMEs about B2C e-commerce exports and selling worldwide through Amazon’s 17 international marketplaces to over 300 million customers worldwide. These workshops aim to enable MSMEs with the knowledge and tools to launch their brands and grow their business in international markets through Amazon Global Selling.
“E-commerce companies like Amazon have complemented government’s efforts in not only meeting the needs of customers by safely delivering essentials but also MSMEs which moved online to grow and expand their business during the Covid pandemic,” Gaurav Gupta, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Commerce & Industries Department, Government of Karnataka said.
Karnataka has a rich cultural and traditional heritage. Karnataka has multiple Geographical Indications products like Bidriware, Channapatna toys and Kinnhal craft. Mysore Silk, Udupi cotton and Ilkal sarees are world-famous. This will go a long way in helping the livelihoods of artisans, weavers and craftsmen from the state, Gupta added.
The MSME sector contributes 29.7 per cent to India’s GDP and accounts for 49.66 per cent of Indian Exports and close to 45 per cent of the country’s manufacturing output. It was one of those hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, as supply chains disrupted across the world and trade came to an almost standstill.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several measures were announced as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package to help MSMEs survive the unfolding pandemic infusing liquidity laying the foundation of a more robust MSME sector for the long-term.
Karnataka government has taken a slew of policy measures to aid the growth of MSME in the state. The recently passed Industrial Facilitation Act builds an MSME friendly investment climate in the State aid the ease of doing business in the state. The amended act enables MSMEs to start operations without obtaining approvals from different departments like trade licenses, building plan approvals, etc. “Self-Certification” related provisions in the approval process for new investments have also been introduced.
“Over 50% of sellers from Karnataka on Amazon are from tier-II cities and beyond. Our government invites Amazon to expand its footprint beyond Bengaluru to other parts of the state,” Gunjan Krishna, IAS, Commissioner for Industrial Development, Government of Karnataka said.
Collaborations such as those between Amazon and MSMEs, enabled by the government, will help our state tide over this Covid hardship and help us get back on our economic growth path, Krishna added.
Keeping the investor-centric approach, our government has launched the New Industrial Policy 2020-2025, to build a prosperous Karnataka and create large-scale employment opportunities. This industrial policy is very forward-looking and brings several incentives and regulatory reforms such as land access and labour market regulation. Promoting economic and industrial development of our state has always been a top priority for the government.
The recent 2020 NITI Aayog 2019 Innovation Index has Karnataka at the top. This has been possible due to the availability of quality human resources, reputed higher educational institutions, and a significant thrust on research and development aided by a proactive administration and conducive investment climate.
The event was attended by Gaurav Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary – Commerce and Industries, Commissioner for Industrial Development, Gunjan Krishna Commissioner for Industrial Development and Director of Industries and Commerce, Abhijit Kamra, Director – Global Trade, Amazon India, Manish Tiwari, Vice President, Amazon Consumer Business, Chetan Krishnaswamy, Vice President Public Policy, Satish Managing Director, Visvesvaraya Trade Promotion Centre, Revanna Gowda Managing Director, Karnataka Udyog Mitra.
Key facts on MSME’s in Karnataka:
In Karnataka, there are over 8 Lakh MSME units, with an investment of INR 86,000 crores and employing 5.6 million people. (56 Lakhs)
Karnataka state has 10 clusters established under Micro Small Enterprise Cluster Development Programme. Namely,
- Automobile Component Cluster, Gokul Industrial Estate at Hubli-Dharwad
- Food Processing Cluster at Kalburgi
- Readymade Garment Cluster at Hubbali
- Raisin Cluster at Bijapur
- Auto Cluster at Bidar
- Raisin Cluster at Athani
- Heat Treatment cluster at Hubli
- Electronics City Industries’ Association (ELCIA) Cluster at Bangalore
- Printing Cluster at Harohalli
- Auto Complex Cluster at Kanabargi Belgaum
