ET Make in India SME Regional Summit, Kolkata, showcases Bengal’s tech-tradition blend amid labour and tariff hurdles

The ET Make in India SME Regional Summit was held in Kolkata on September 4, 2025, bringing together industry stakeholders, small business owners, and SME (small and medium enterprise) associations in one platform to exchange ideas and knowledge and discover new opportunities for growth and innovation.

The third edition of the ET Make in India SME Regional Summit is being held under the theme ‘Empowering MSMEs: Driving India’s Century of Sustainable Growth,’ aimed at championing, acknowledging, and strengthening the Indian MSME sector. Each summit will comprise a diverse array of discussions and sessions, including panel discussions, masterclasses, and showcases of MSME solutions.


Kolkata was an ideal choice for this SME regional summit, given its industrial prowess in sectors like handloom and textiles, along with its growing infrastructure and connectivity to ports. The summit was a resounding success with a phenomenal turnout.

The summit at Kolkata began with a keynote address on the topic “From handlooms to high-tech: How policy is shaping the potential of Bengal” by Partha Chowdhury, Joint Director, MSME (BG) of the Directorate of MSME, Government of West Bengal.

He highlighted that handloom in West Bengal serves as a cornerstone of its culture and economy while mentioning the challenges faced by the sector, such as issues around supply chain and lack of skilled manpower. “Weavers often lack direct access to markets, which are basically occupied by middlemen. Further, young people are migrating for better-paying jobs, leading to a decline in skilled weavers,” he said.

He also mentioned how the state is active around high-tech sectors and creating an enabling environment for the same. “While preserving its heritage, West Bengal is also actively cultivating a new economic engine that is high-tech. IT sector policy interventions have been critical in turning this around. The state government recognises this, and with it, the intellectual capacity of our state, along with premier institutions like IIT Kharagpur and other organisations which can help the state become a leader in this digital economy,” he said.

Joining the stage after Chowdhury was Anupam Gayen, Zonal Head, NSIC Kolkata, for a special address where he spoke about the various challenges faced by MSMEs—right from global uncertainty to lack of digital adoption. He mentioned that Bengal has around 9 million MSMEs with 540 product clusters, particularly in textiles, leather, tea, and foundry.
“MSMEs are facing some of the toughest challenges today. In case of any global uncertainty, such as Trump’s 50% tariffs, it is the MSMEs who get impacted the most. Global uncertainty will always be there, but we need to be resilient. We need to become agile against global challenges and technology disruption. We can say rapid AI adoption, Industry 4.0, and digital commerce adoption; however, MSMEs are somewhere lacking here. Then again, for export, you have to look for climate and green technologies. If you go to European countries, they will go for green certifications, carbon emissions, etc. So that’s another challenge,” he said.

This was followed by an exclusive fireside chat with Nagaraj Garla, Executive Director, IDBI Bank, on the topic ‘Catalysing 'Make in India' Growth: IDBI Bank's Strategic Imperatives for Empowering MSMEs’.

From the beginning, Garla addressed the ongoing challenge of tariffs imposed by the US, saying that it will undoubtedly have an impact on the MSME sector. “But if someone has proactively taken some steps, I think that will have the least impact. If someone has not taken action today, they will have a problem,” he said, adding that the impact will be for around 12-18 months, after which it will be adjusted.
He added that this crisis also opens up opportunities as the government is now pushing for diversification of export markets. Banks are also taking various steps to expand the market and help MSMEs become very competitive, he said. “One way to attack this tariff is actually to reduce costs. So having digital initiatives and moving from, say, an electricity bill to a solar capex requirement. There are many MSMEs who have spent money on solar energy, and their electricity bills have become virtually zero electricity bills,” he said.

Suvrendu Mitra, Senior Sales Manager-BIS Channel, Canon India, then took the stage with his presentation on ‘Making Business Simple with Canon’. He provided helpful details about next-generation printing technologies featuring advanced security layers, highlighting how these innovations can enable entrepreneurs to establish a unique identity and strengthen their competitive advantage.
This was followed by Diptimoy Nayak, Corporate Head, Audi India, giving a presentation explaining the deep connection between the brand and small businesses in India.
After Audi’s presentation, Century Plyboards India’s Executive Director Keshav Bhajanka took the stage for a business growth story. Bhajanka discussed the success of his factory in Bengal, which has operated continuously since 1986 with over 3,000 workers. He attributed the company's longevity to adaptability, talent retention, and integrity.

“I think one thing that differentiates us from everybody else in our industry, and perhaps a lot of other corporations as well, is the fact that we aren’t afraid of change. Every time a crisis has hit, we have evolved out of it stronger. So, you know, every problem is an opportunity; that is a statement that we really take to heart.”
He talked about how the company kept bringing new innovations into the market as per the trends. “So in 1997, we came up with termite-proof plywood. That was the first in India. We kept on adding new technologies. We added glue line protection. During Covid-19, our product got a technology called Viro-kill for every single piece of our plywood. It would kill any virus which touches the cell walls. After that we came up with a fire-safe technology firewall. So, whether the product is interesting or boring, if you continue to innovate, you can make it more interesting,” he said.

This session was then followed by an engaging panel discussion on the topic ‘Kolkata 2030: A vision for MSME-driven economic transformation’, where exporters and industry leaders came together to brainstorm and exchange ideas and issues.

Ramesh Kumar Juneja, Vice Chairman, Council for Leather Exports and Director, J.C. International, dubbed the US tariffs on India as ‘unjustified,’ leading to exporters becoming uncompetitive and buyers asking for discounts. He also demanded the interest subvention scheme be restarted soon.

Talking about making products in other countries, like in Europe, and exporting them to the world, Juneja called it impractical and more of a fraudulent business. “If we sell anything from India, we must put the label ‘Made in India’ without that, customs will not allow it. They will confiscate the goods. In Europe, it will be very expensive to change the label. You have to pay about 11 euros per hour there,” he said, adding that in such a scenario, Nepal would work, and it is possible that factories might shift from India to Nepal.

Prabir Bhattacharjee, Secretary General, Tea Association of India, highlighted the challenges of India’s tea industry, including the unorganised market becoming bigger than the organised one and the surge of tea imports. At the same time, he also mentioned how the perception of tea has improved from being a cheap beverage to an aspirational one. “GI tag teas like Darjeeling teas, Assam CTCs are capturing the imagination of the consumers in Indian and international markets,” he said.

Pallavi Luharuka, Founder & CEO, Royal Bengal Greentech, talked about how being in the sustainability industry has always been tough to sell, as not just Bengal but the whole of India is a price-sensitive market. “It’s very important to break the cost barrier; otherwise the first thing that comes to mind about ESG, and sustainability, is premium. We believe premium should only be quality, not price,” she said.
Rajeev Singh, Director General, Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), mentioned the points needed for West Bengal’s 2030 vision. While there are many thriving sectors in the state, such as jewellery, chemicals, engineering, plastics, hospitality, etc., one needs to look where the strength lies and focus on it.

“In many ways, Bengal is number one, number two and number three, but the share in exports is only 3% now. Considering the kind of strength Bengal has in raw materials, capabilities, and manufacturing MSME base, I think the share in exports is too low. Also, for the 2030 vision, we need skilled manpower. Bengal loses highly qualified and skilled people every year to other Indian cities and to the world,” he said.

The final session of the evening was a presentation by Kaushal Kishore, General Manager, IDBI Bank, Kolkata, and Satya Saran Mondal, DGM, MSME Centre, IDBI Bank, Kolkata, highlighting the organisation's initiatives, outreach, and tools that empower MSMEs.
This marked the successful conclusion of the fifth event in this year’s ET Make in India SME Regional Summit series, held in Kolkata.

The event sponsors were IDBI Bank as Banking & Lending Partner, Canon India as Tech Enabler and Audi Kolkata as Gold Partner. The Summit now heads to Noida on September 26, 2025, for another round of conversations, discussions, and learning in the ET SME Make in India pan-India series.