AIMA will collaborate with MSMEs and family businesses to enhance India's manufacturing ecosystem, said President TV Narendran. He stressed the need for competitiveness, skill development, and building domestic tech and IP to seize global opportunities.
AIMA to Strengthen MSME Ecosystem
The All India Management Association (AIMA) will work with micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and family-run businesses to strengthen the manufacturing ecosystem, its President TV Narendran said, as India seeks to build greater domestic capabilities and participate more deeply in global value chains.
Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of AIMA’s National Management Convention 2026, Narendran said a strong MSME sector would be essential for any manufacturing economy and AIMA would work with its members to strengthen the ecosystem.
“What FM has basically said is we as AIMA need to work with particularly the MSME sector, family-run businesses to see how we can strengthen them, create a strong ecosystem because I think any manufacturing economy needs to have a very strong MSME sector,” Narendran said. “Many of our members are from the MSME sector and we will, as AIMA, work with all of them,” he added.
On US Tariff Bill
When asked about the US 100 per cent tariff bill concerning India and China, Narendran said it was too early to assess its impact and that the actual notification would need to be seen.
“I don't know what the impact is as yet. I think one has been reading about it. Let's see what the actual notification is,” he said. His comment follows Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's call for greater participation from industry in meeting India's development needs. Addressing the convention, Sitharaman had said more of India's development needs could be met through the market as sectors such as space and nuclear energy open up to greater private participation.
Capturing Global Opportunities
During his address, Narendran said the opportunity for India was growing as global supply chains change, but capturing it would depend on improving the country's competitiveness.
“The world is changing and that change is creating an opportunity for India but whether we can capture that opportunity will depend on how capable and competitive we become,” he said in his welcome remarks. He said companies would ultimately choose India based on cost, quality, productivity, infrastructure, logistics, energy and the ability to deliver consistently at scale.
Moving Beyond Assembly
Narendran also stressed the need for India to move beyond simply assembling products and develop greater capabilities in technology, design and intellectual property.
“India has shown it can adopt technology at remarkable speed,” he said, adding that the opportunity was not only to use new technologies to improve productivity but also to develop more technology, design and intellectual property domestically.
Building Resilience Against Disruptions
He also flagged the need to strengthen skills, diversify sources of supply and improve energy security as businesses prepare for geopolitical, trade and technology-related disruptions.
Narendran further said the focus should be on building capabilities that allow India to continue growing even as the global environment changes. “How do we build the capabilities that allow India to keep growing even when the world around us keeps changing? That to me is what growth with resilience really means,” he said. (ANI)
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