Refractories at Vriddhachalam facing bleak future - TANSTIA President

CUDDALORE, May 2, 2010 - At the initiative of the Tamilnadu Small and Tiny Industries Association (TANSTIA) the Centre has formed a task force under the aegis of the Planning Commission to address the problems faced by lakhs of small units in the country.
In this regard Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for a meeting of all State Ministers and officials in Delhi on May 11, according to D.Gandhikumar, president of TANSTIA.
He was addressing the seminar on "Opportunities for micro and small-scale industries" jointly organised here by the TANSTIA and the Micro and Small Enterprises Association of Cuddalore District here on Friday.
Mr. Gandhikumar said that since Independence the small-scale sector was never in the reckoning of the policy-makers. The TANSTIA took up the cause of the entrepreneurs, numbering about 42 lakh in the country, and insisted upon the Centre to take them also into confidence while framing the industrial policy as they too played a significant role in the economic development of the country.
Heeding their requests Mr Manmohan Singh had invited the TANSTIA office-bearers to his residence, twice within a year, to discuss the issue. Mr. Gandhikumar said that Coimbatore was often cited for entrepreneurship and infrastructure development at the private initiative.
It had now become the venue for State, national and internal-level expos and seminars, thus, making the government to take note of the development. Mr Gandhikumar said the entrepreneurs in Cuddalore could cater to the needs of the agricultural and fishing sectors. He pointed out that the refractories at Vriddhachalam were facing bleak future because of the large requirement of firewood.
Therefore, to solve the problem a proposal for setting up a 3,000-tonne capacity oven had been sent to the government.
The entrepreneurs could also cater to the needs of the construction industry, agriculture and fishing. He said the TANSTIA would support the cause of the small units in this region and help them get the government assistance.
K.Gopalakrishnan, TANSTIA general secretary, S.Ashok and G.Ramalingam, president and secretary of the Cuddalore Association, participated.