Asian Journal of Multidimensional Research (AJMR)

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of Indian industrial growth. Their contribution to the total manufacturing output, exports, creation of employment opportunities as well as GDP is widely recognized. However, the growth of MSMEs and their role in creating an equitable employment scenario is hindered by several socio-economic and financial problems. Emphasizing on the problems and potentials of the MSMEs of Kalunga region, this paper advances insights into the micro problems as well as policy measures MSME units of Odisha. Underlying the challenges of MSMEs are the difficulty in the procurement of raw materials, marketing of produced goods, insufficient demand and delayed payments, training and development of entrepreneurs and labourers, utilization of capacity and many more.

The major finding of the paper is that the growth and the employment elasticity of MSMEs has improved tremendously over the past decade. The results of the paper are based on a detailed survey and reports on the Kalunga region of the Sundargarh district.