PTI New Delhi

India needs to attract MSMEs from other countries to drive competitiveness and integrate small and medium enterprises with larger supply chains to achieve 7-8 per cent economic growth, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Suman Bery said on Thursday. Addressing an event organised by CII, Bery said that India will have to attract micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from other countries to be fully competitive. "We have miles to go to keep up with China. Because China was successful in attracting the big boys," he said.

"Big boys can negotiate complicated rules...we will not be fully competitive unless we can attract MSMEs from other countries," he said while highlighting that over-regulations have become barriers to entry into Indian markets, particularly for MSMEs. The NITI Aayog VC also said that attracting foreign MSMEs also depends on a vibrant relationship between domestic MSMEs and the large-scale corporates to which they contribute.

Pointing out the integration of the automotive sector in Thailand and Japan with the global value chain over the last 20 years, Bery said, "There is a terrific home bias in the activities of our large scale manufacturers, and we have got to chip away".  He said MSMEs need to be integrated into larger supply chains to drive real competitiveness and achieve 7-8 per cent economic growth.

Bery noted that growth happens through innovations and gains from trade, but sustaining momentum is harder when you are doing well. "The challenge is to keep pushing forward -- India's corporate sector must step up, and MSMEs need to be integrated into larger supply chains to drive real competitiveness and achieve 7-8 per cent growth," he said.

Speaking on India's growth prospects, Bery said that the country has staged a remarkable economic recovery post-COVID, emerging as the fastest-growing large economy in the world, as acknowledged by the IMF. "With moderate inflation and declining poverty levels, the country is on a strong growth trajectory.