Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector in India is the key driver of the nation's economic growth with a contribution of over 40 per cent to the country's industrial output and around 35 per cent to direct exports. It accounts for over 90 per cent of the industrial units in the country. In terms of employment, this sector plays a very crucial role, being the second largest employer after agriculture.

In the current economic slowdown, SME sector has been hit very hard due to rising interest rates and financial crunch. As a result of this economic slowdown and global markets collapsing there is a decline in the cash reserve and the working capital becomes more difficult and has resulted in cut down on orders and piling up of pending payments. The severely affected sectors are Gems & Jewellery, textiles, auto parts and handicrafts. SMEs in the country are facing numerous problems relating to basic infrastructure facilities like uninterrupted power supply, efficient rail-road connectivity, etc. This vital sector needs Government support in terms of financial, regulatory, procedural reforms for sustaining its growth in the current economic slowdown.

In view of the significance of the sector for Indian economy, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and FICCI, the apex business organization of Indian Industry, are jointly organising the Global SME Summit on 28th & 29th July, 2009 at Federation House, New Delhi.

The global summit aims to mainly deliberate upon the challenges and opportunities faced by SMEs in the current global turmoil and the requisite strategies & approach to ensure the development and effective participation of SMEs in developmental process of economy. There is a strong need for strengthening their capabilities through evolving suitable policy measures & strategies, so that SMEs could effectively meet the challenges of current scenario. In the Global SME Summit, the focus would be on the role of SMEs in the Indian Economy and on the sharing of international experience on enabling framework and support structure for strengthening the competitiveness of SMEs globally. The summit would be of vital importance to entrepreneurs from SME sector as well as the agencies and organisations concerned with promotion and development of SMEs.