Hyderabad: Bureau of Energy Efficiency(BEE) has organized “National Conclave on Enhancing Energy Efficiency in MSME sector” on 23-24th September, 2019 at New Delhi. This two-day Conclave cum Exhibition will observe participation of senior officials from the Government, members from Industry Associations, MSME entrepreneurs, technology and service providers, sectoral energy experts, who are contributing significantly for the development of MSME sector and taking this sector towards sustainable and green pathway.

 

Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Road Transport and Highways, and Shri R.K. Singh, Minister of State (IC), Ministry of Power and New & Renewable Energy, Govt. of India, jointly inaugurated the Conclave and the Exhibition displaying Energy Efficient Technologies for MSME Sector.

 

In his inaugural address, Shri Nitin Gadkari emphasized that “energy is the driving force for all the economic activities including MSME sector. Making efforts towards energy conservation and taking appropriate measures to mitigate carbon emissions is our key priority. He said that Government is committed to the development of MSMEs with an objective to transform the sector through green and sustainable initiatives towards high growth.

 

In the context of energy, Shri R K Singh highlighted that “Industrial energy demand in India has almost doubled in the last five years and it is expected the growth may continue and the demand for energy likely to go up by over 3 times between 2012 and 2040 respectively. Government has set-up long term agenda through National Energy Policy. Therefore, Adopting energy efficiency Initiatives pursuing best practices, and implementing energy conservation guidelines would be key levers in reducing the energy demand and strengthening Energy security” This is why BEE was set-up under the Minister of Power with mandate to develop strategies for unlocking energy efficiency from bottom-up approach.

 

Development Commissioner (MSME) stated that Indian MSME base is one of the largest in the world, after China. Apart from being instrumental in economic development and large scale employment provider, the sector holds its strength for on-demand manufacturing service, responsiveness to innovations, quick adoptions to changes and well established value added supply chain. He also credited Indian MSME sector with a pride in supporting ISRO for Chandrayaan 2, an ambitious space program of India. The space agency has already demonstrated partnering with MSMEs, sourcing quality component and services to support indigenous space programs/missions”.

 

The key highlight of the event was the release of “Energy Conservation Guidelines for MSMEs” and launch of Knowledge Management Portal “SIDHIEE” under the BEE’s MSME Programme. During the inaugural session, an  MOU for enhancing energy security in MSMEs was also signed between the Director General, MSME and Bureau of Energy Efficiency for developing a long term roadmap for enhancing energy efficiency and security for the MSME Sector through focused intervention. The MoU includes area of cooperation for comprehensive energy mapping of MSMEs on pan India, development of appropriate schemes and programs to improve energy security of MSMEs

 

Senior officer from Ministry of Power informed that, this National Conclave on Enhancing Energy Efficiency in MSME sector will be useful in creating a platform for pooling the knowledge and synergising the efforts of various stakeholders. The delegates would deliberate strategies to promote energy efficiency while discussing the key issues like technical and financial capabilities of MSMEs, capacity building and awareness programme.” 

 

Director General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, stated that a statutory body under the Ministry of Power, mandated for developing policies and strategies to reduce energy intensities among all economic sectors. Initiatives such as Perform Achieve and Trade, Energy labelling of appliances, Energy Efficiency in buildings are some of the programs initiated by BEE. Especially for MSME Sector, Bureau has established energy management centers across India, developing more than 300 energy efficiency case studies and preparation of investment grade DPRs.  BEE has also implemented about 50 energy efficient technologies as pilot projects and periodically conducted nationwide awareness and capacity building workshops/training programs for various stakeholders, including support to 40 MSME units for adopting energy management systems as per ISO 50001 standards.