Madurai District Collector K.J. Praveen Kumar after inaugurating the two-day ‘MSME CONNECT 2025 — Vendor Development Programme-cum-Industrial Exhibition’ in Madurai on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: G. Moorthy
A two‑day MSME Connect 2025 — Vendor Development Programme‑cum‑Industrial Exhibition opened at MADITSSIA Hall here on Thursday, with officials calling for stronger support to micro, small and medium enterprises and wider use of the Government e‑Marketplace (GeM) portal to tap public procurement opportunities.
Inaugurating the programme, District Collector K.J. Praveen Kumar said the initiative would help local entrepreneurs become vendors to public sector undertakings (PSUs) and government departments by guiding them through GeM registration and tender procedures.
He said he would be happy to see Madurai’s MSMEs supplying even “the tiny screws and nuts that go into ISRO’s rockets,” and urged the units to scale up so that their components could enter national‑level supply chains.
The Collector said the MSMEs were central to inclusive growth, providing employment to about 11 crore people, contributing nearly 30% to GDP and over 40% of exports, and generating a substantial number of jobs for women in rural and semi‑urban areas. Madurai’s new Master Plan offered relaxations in land use and planning norms to create a more conducive environment for industries in the district and across south Tamil Nadu, he added.
The event is jointly organised by the Union MSME Ministry and Madurai District Tiny and Small-Scale Industries Association (MADITSSIA). J. Ashok, secretary, MADITSSIA; S. Suresh Babuji, Joint Director and head of office, MSME Development Facilitation Office (DFO), Chennai; Karthikeyan, Regional Chairman of FASII; B.R. Arun Prasad, Chairman, MSME Connect, MADITSSIA; and Kiran Dev Satuluri, Assistant Director, MSME DFO, Chennai, were present.
Mr. Karthikeyan highlighted the combined efforts of MADITSSIA, the Ministry, SIDBI and other agencies to link local units with Central institutions. Around 25 stalls have been set up by different organisations, including NLC India Ltd., CPCL, defence equipment manufacturers and various departments, to explain their procurement requirements and tender procedures.
He also spoke about ‘Zero Defect Zero Effect (ZED)’ certification scheme, related subsidies and support measures available to help the MSMEs upgrade quality.
Through the day, technical officials from Integral Coach Factory, Southern Railway, NLC, BHEL, IOCL, Power Grid Corporation, SIDBI and NSIC explained to entrepreneurs how local vendors could meet specifications and increase the share of public procurement from the MSMEs to the mandated 25%. Seminars on different topics are being organised.
Entry to the exhibition, which is open from 10 a.m. to 6.30 p.m., is free.
Published – December 18, 2025 08:20 pm IST
