Topic: changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.
4. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are considered to be the backbone of the economy. They are also pivotal to the nation’s growth as they employ lakh of unskilled and semi-skilled individuals. Evaluate the impact of e-commerce on MSMEs. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Live Mint , Insights on India
Why the question:
The issue of co-existence of organized and unorganized sectors in a developing country like India is not new. While the debate persists, specifically in the services sector, a relatively new (though related) variant of the problem now concerns the co-existence of traditional brick-and-mortar sellers with online marketplaces (so-called e-commerce aggregators), such as Flipkart and Amazon.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about contribution of MSME in India’s growth and how e-commerce has affected MSMEs.
Directive word:
Evaluate – When you are asked to evaluate, you have to pass a sound judgement about the truth of the given statement in the question or the topic based on evidence. You must appraise the worth of the statement in question. There is scope for forming an opinion here.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving factual status of proportion of MSME vis-à-vis the population dependent on it also adding the dimension of the demographic demand of India.
Body:
Elaborate upon the importance of MSMEs in socio-economic development of the country. GDP growth, Job creation, exports and entrepreneurship etc.
Mention about the challenges created by e-commerce platforms with respect to MSMEs such as – competition, discounts, imports etc.
Next, suggest ways in which they both can co-exist.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward and summarising the overall impact of MSMEs in socio-economic development of India.
