Over 3,670 MSMEs Tap Into PSU Supply Chains as Tamil Nadu Expands Vendor Outreach

More than 3,670 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have so far interacted directly with public sector undertakings through Tamil Nadu's vendor development programmes, MSME Minister P. Mathan Raja said on Friday, as the State widened an effort to bring small local manufacturers into the supply chains of government-owned industries.

Addressing the inaugural session of a vendor development programme in Thoothukudi, the Minister said 12 such events had already been held in major industrial centres, including Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore. The Thoothukudi meeting was the 13th in the State, and 18 are planned in all. The event was organised by FaMe TN, an agency functioning under the MSME department, and was presided over by District Collector Vishu Mahajan.

Vendor development programmes are structured meets where small firms get to present their products and capabilities to public sector undertakings, which in turn explain their procurement requirements, quality standards and registration processes. For many small units, such exposure is the first practical route to becoming an approved supplier to a large buyer.

Noting the scale of the sector, the Minister said more than 43 lakh MSMEs operate in Tamil Nadu, where they play a key role in industrial development and in generating employment.

On funding, he said the State budget had allocated ₹2,141 crore this year to strengthen MSMEs. A further ₹600 crore had been set apart under the capital subsidy scheme to encourage industrial investment.

“Tamil Nadu has set a transformative target of becoming a $1.5 trillion economy by 2036. This target can be achieved only when large industries and MSMEs work together,” Mr. Mathan Raja said.

He said opening up the vendor networks of public sector undertakings would help create a self-sustaining economic cycle in the southern region, where districts such as Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi and Kanniyakumari have a concentration of small engineering, fabrication and allied units.

The Minister urged MSMEs to adopt technology and improve their competitiveness, while calling upon public sector undertakings to integrate capable local industrial units into their supply chains.

“There is no shortage of talent or hard work among entrepreneurs in Tamil Nadu. It is the responsibility of the government to open necessary doors and show them the right path,” he said.

Around 120 representatives of MSMEs from Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi and Kanniyakumari districts took part in the programme.

The State's focus on MSMEs rests on their weight in the economy: the sector is widely recognised as one of the largest sources of employment in India after agriculture, and small units form a substantial part of the vendor base for larger manufacturers. Access to credit, technology upgradation and dependable orders from large buyers are among the persistent concerns raised by such firms.

The 18 programmes announced for Tamil Nadu are expected to extend the vendor outreach to other industrial clusters in the coming months, with the State positioning the initiative as a bridge between its small enterprises and its public sector buyers.