The National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), since its establishment in 1955, has been working to fulfil its mission of promoting, aiding and fostering the growth of small-scale industries and service enterprises in the country. Over six decades of transition and growth, NSIC has been promoting first-generation entrepreneurs and helping existing small enterprises in modernization, upgradation of technology, quality consciousness, strengthening linkages with larger enterprises and enhancing exports.
Small enterprise development is one of the thrust areas of the Corporation, which can be achieved by providing hand-holding support to potential entrepreneurs in selection and operation of selected enterprises.
At present, there is a need for an integrated support structure whereby all services like entrepreneurship training, sourcing of technology, preparation of project report, accessing credit from bank/financial institution, marketing support, obtaining government approvals and so on, could be provided by a single agency. While there are different organizations for different services, none of the organizations have been providing all these services under one roof so that the prospective entrepreneur does not have to run around from one institution to another. Many people drop the idea of becoming self-employed firstly due to lack of knowledge and then the hassles of completing various procedures/formalities. This has been felt the biggest hurdle in the success of self-employment oriented schemes/programmes. Even after this hurdle is crossed by a few who are able to establish an enterprise and start production, selling and marketing of their output becomes a big issue.
Many people drop the idea of
becoming self-employed due to
lack of knowledge and hassles
of procedures/formalities
Incubation is an appropriate tool to prepare any unemployed person for entrepreneurship and to build his capacity for setting up a new enterprise. Incubation provides necessary facilities For prospective entrepreneurs and start-up companies to learn product manufacturing, its processes coupled with technology development, business development, financing arrangements and so on under one roof.
Keeping in view the need for creating more self-employment opportunities and for capacity-building of unemployed persons who are vulnerable in terms of lack of higher education and sound financial means, NSIC is setting up incubators which would convert an unemployed person into an entrepreneur by providing all support services like practical training on machines/projects, helping in preparation of project reports, providing training, seeking government approval, identification and procurement of plant and machinery, help in accessing credit from banks/financial institutions and providing marketing support, including raw material sourcing and the like.
The objectives of the incubation pro
gramme are:
◗ Self-employment generation among aspiring entrepreneurs.
◗ Providing integrated support by way of practical training on working projects and complete hand-holding.
◗ Accelerating the development of new and small enterprises.
The first such incubator set up in NSIC’s Okhla campus in Delhi demonstrates and facilitates incubation in low-cost projects like brick manufacturing, wax candle manufacturing, socks, ice cream cones, paper napkins, soya milk, ginger/garlic paste, tomato ketchup, steel cutlery, Pet bottles, chalk crayons, and many more such low-cost and small projects.
The idea is to create self-employment by providing low-cost machinery/projects which could create employment for two to five persons per project with an investment between Rs 2 to 10 lakh. The total duration of the incubation programme is three months with four weeks’ practical on-the-job training, with the remaining period being utilized for sourcing of technology, arranging finance and completion of other documentation, and so on. Each batch comprises 30 persons selected by inviting applications through ads.
