How do small scale industries contribute to the socio-economic development of India?
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Small scale enterprises exist in every country of the world but in a developing country like India these have special appearance. In this respect, state its contribution towards socio-economic development of India.
India is a developing country and in developing countries the scope of small scale industries are very wide.
It is contributing to the socio-economic development in the following wags
(i) Contribution in GDP Small industries in India account for 95 % of the industrial units in the country. They contribute almost 40 % of the gross industrial value added in the economy.
(ii) Contribution in Exports 45% of the total exports from India come from small scale industries. Gems and jewellery, handicrafts, sports goods, etc are some items of exports from small scale sector.
(iii) Employment Generation Small industries are the second largest employers of human resources after agriculture and generate more number of employment opportunities per unit of capital invested compared to large industries.
(iv) Variety of Production Small industries produce a wide variety of products ranging from mass consumption goods, readymade garments, hosiery goods, stationery items, soaps and detergents, domestic utensils, leather, plastic and rubber goods, processed foods and vegetables, wood and steel furniture, paints, varnishes, safety matches, etc. They also produce sophisticated items like electric and electronic goods, drugs and pharmaceuticals, agricultural tools and equipment and several other engineering products. Handlooms, handicrafts and other products from traditional village industries add to this diverse production from such industries.
(v) Regional Balance Small industries contribute significantly to the balanced development of the country as they produce simple products using simple technologies and depend on locally available resources. Both material and labour can be set up anywhere in the country.
(vi) Entrepreneurship Development Small industries provide opportunity for entrepreneur¬ship development in the country. The latent skills and talents of people can be transformed into business ideas with little capital investment and almost nil formalities to start a small business.
(vii) Low Cost of Production Small industries have the advantage of low cost of production as they use locally available resources which are less expensive. Establishment and running costs of small industries are lower because of low overhead expenses.