The CII Maharashtra State Council believes that since we are an integral part of the overall civic society, we need to utilize and direct our resources in contributing back to the society. Keeping this as an objective, we have been engaging in various activities which would ensure the contribution of the industry towards the society. At the same time, we have also embarked on a mission to ignite a movement in evolving a vision for facilitating Maharashtra’s transformation into an economically strong, technologically vital and ethically sound leader. Hence, our theme “Economic, Social and Environmental Sustainability through Innovation, Productivity and Skills Enhancement” for the year 2009-10.
As a supporter of growth, competitiveness and welfare, CII Maharashtra State Council focuses on issues & activities that would put impetus on fulfilling the overall objective of inclusive growth for our state. Various engagements with the Government and key nodal agencies have enabled us to make suitable representations and recommendations that included workable models to resolve issues of concern. CII has been working very closely with the State Government and has made representations on a wide range of issues covering various sectors such as Single Window Clearance Act, abolition of Octroi in Maharashtra etc. A key focus area is the development and up gradation of infrastructure, both physical and social (power, octroi, roads, skill development etc) to improve the State’s competitiveness that is central to sustained growth and poverty reduction.
In this direction, CII along with the support of the Government of Maharashtra has launched Phase I of the Biotech Resource Centre. The main objective of this Centre will be to provide a ‘one stop solution’ to entrepreneurs seeking solutions to the various policy, regulatory and other related queries that they may face in the process of setting up a biotech unit. We have also been working in the areas of Skill Development (Education and Training) that includes up gradation of ITIs, polytechnics, affirmative actions and finishing schools since skill development is an industry agenda too and cannot just be outsourced to the Government. Moreover, we strongly believe that the industry understands its needs better and the kind of skill sets that need to be harnessed from time to time. The State office is also actively involved in organizing interactions for its Member companies with incoming Heads of State from Overseas and their business delegations. This provides our Membership a unique opportunity to meet and interact with leading business leaders from across sectors and explore opportunities for growth, joint ventures and partnerships. The State Office, as part of its regular ongoing activities, also organizes competitions which focus on Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) as well as the Kaizen Competition every year to create an awareness of the Best Kaizen Practices in the industry and make them known to all.
Ø ZONES:
On of the key areas of focus of the Maharashtra State Council has been developing and promoting Industry in the Zonal areas. The Council has channelised various efforts to promote industrial and socio economic growth in the Zonal areas though the 5 zonal offices that are ; Aurangabad, Nashik, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Pune.
Ø CLUSTER FORMATION
Cluster programme aims at strengthening Indian small and medium enterprises and component suppliers to meet the requirements of global competitiveness. CII has initiated the programme for supporting Small Scale industries (SSI) and Small & Medium Enterprises (SME''s) in the format of Clusters. The objective of Clusters is to improve competitiveness of SME''s through a Cluster approach. In this programme, training modules like 5S, Kaizen, Energy Conservation, Total Cost Management, Total Product Management, Total Quality Management, Manufacturing Excellence, Human Resource etc
Ø PANEL ACTIVITIES:
One of the most important steps in tackling various issues related to policy, regulation, markets etc are the regular interactions between the industry members across sectors. This has been achieved by way of constitution of Four Panels in the areas of:
· FMCG: The key areas of work are the issues of counterfeit and contraband products as well as Government of Maharashtra Notification and amendment to PFA Act.
· Finance & Taxation: The key focus area of this panel is review and initiation of discussions / debates / interactions on various issues related to VAT, Service Tax, Central Sales Tax, Octroi (Indirect Taxes) amongst the members. It also involves interactions with the Central Government on Implementation of Central & State GST from 1st April 2010.
· Import & Export: The key focus area of this panel is to resolve issues faced by the members in the areas of Export / Imports related with Custom, Airlines/ Shipping co, Forwarders and DGFT. Other areas of work include ensuring increased participation of CII members in RMS Accredited client scheme by Customs, issues of congestion at JNPT and participating in meetings of Customs and Infrastructure Committee Airport.
· International Trade: The key focus area of this panel is to address the issues faced by member companies pertaining to FTA’s and PTA’s that India currently has / should have with other nations. It also focuses on showcasing Indian companies through CII’s programmes, organized in honour of incoming foreign delegations. Other areas of work include disseminating information periodically on opportunities existent in different sectors in India and abroad for facilitating better interaction during virtual meetings as well as to route investments and seek technological assistance from visiting delegations to Indian MSMEs for bettering Infrastructure, Education and Pharmaceuticals in the State.
· MSME Panel: The key focus area of this panel is to address the day to day issues of concern and relevance to MSMEs and to aggressively promote the MSME clusters at various locations in the Maharashtra State. It also works to design and conduct programmes aimed at helping the MSMEs to improve their competitiveness while creating a forum to provide networking opportunities and experience sharing.
These Panels are convened by leading experts from the industry and membership of these panels comprises of hands-on professionals in these areas from across-the- board industries. Through various meetings round the year, these Panels work closely with the State Office and the State Government in raising important issues and work as a catalyst in identifying possible solutions to these issues.