The ‘Annual Entrepreneurs Meet-UNNATI’ has been held on 21 st July, 2024 hosted by the Khurdha district chapter of OASME (Odisha Assembly of Small and Medium Enterprises) at Mayfair Lagoon, Bhubaneswar. The programme commenced with the recitation of the song ‘Bande Utkal Janani’. It was graced by Shri Rabi Narayan Naik, Honorable Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj & Drinking water, Govt. of Odisha. The representatives of OASME, GM-DIC, MSME-DFO and KIIT-TBI were also present in the session. Over 200 enthusiastic enterprise owners from across Odisha participated in this power-packed session.
KIIT-TBI, enrolled as a consultant in the MSME Competitive (LEAN) Scheme has now collaborated with OASME to spread awareness and benefits of LEAN scheme for enterprises especially SMEs in the state. Through this initiative, KIIT-TBI would be focusing on industry awareness programmes/workshop, stakeholders training, handholding of MSMEs towards the implementation of LEAN tools and techniques at all three levels – basic, intermediate, and advanced. KIIT-TBI is already in discussion with more than 50 SMEs in the state to onboard them to form clusters (minimum group of 4) to implement LEAN competitive scheme in their organizations. Further to this, KIIT-TBI is also planning to get the ZED certification of these SMEs, followed by achievement of LEAN.
Anticipating the need of LEAN certification for SMEs, KIIT-TBI is all geared up to extend the programme to other states of the country, such as Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana, Delhi NCR, and Goa etc.
Dr. Debi Prasad Sahoo, one of the LEAN consultants associated with KIIT-TBI was also present in the event. Mr. Sahoo has been a veteran in the field of quality audits and implementation of various quality standards, quality planning, quality assurance, quality controls, and quality improvement, as well as an HR strategist in various organizations for more than 30 years. Mr. Shyama Prasad, Deputy Director of NPC, Bhubaneswar spoke to the enterprises about the benefits to MSME, the implementation procedure, and gave them a detailed explanation of the initiative. During the awareness program, Mr. P.K. Gupta, IEDS, Joint Director – MSME DFO, Cuttack, also spoke with the respective owners of MSME units and helped in resolving their queries regarding the programme.
Sh. Samarendra Sahu – Advisor, Mr. Debashis Tripathy- Sr. Manager and Mr. Suramya Mishra- Manager from KIIT-TBI also played a role in assisting OASME and helped in bridging the gaps between NPC and the MSME units present and better comprehend the scheme.
Dr. Amaresh Panda, Head of TTO, KIIT-TBI, addressed the gathering, emphasizing the importance of protecting Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) through Patents, Trade Marks, and GI (Geographical Indication) along with associated benefits. Additionally, MoU signed between the Technology Transfer Office of KIIT- TBI and OASME in presence of Former Additional Development Commissioner, MoMSME Govt of India; Joint Director, MSME-DFO; Govt of Odisha Representatives; President and Secretary General, OASME paving the way for MSME units to receive future assistance in technology transfer.
This partnership aims to facilitate technology transfer, foster innovation, and promote entrepreneurship among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the region. Through this collaboration, both organizations intend to enhance the commercialization of indigenous technologies, support startups, and drive economic growth in Odisha by providing SMEs access to cutting-edge technologies and industry expertise.
The session was ended with an expression of gratitude by Mr. Shalin DDML Agrawal, President of the Khurd chapter.
