India-Nepal Economic Ties are Strong and Faring Well say policy-makers at the PHDCCI India-Nepal Centre Webinar

With the Covid 19 outbreak and prolonged lockdown, lives and livelihoods of people globally has been adversely impacted in unprecedented manner. India and Nepal are severely impacted as well. In such trying times, economic cooperation between India and Nepal needs to be further accelerated. For economic rebounding in both the countries, the performance of the MSME sector is going to be one of the decisive factors. Against this backdrop, under the aegis of India Nepal Centre and in association with the Confederation of Nepalese Industries, Nepal SBI Bank, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) organised a webinar titled: Enhancing Cooperation for MSMEs in Nepal on August 31. Maha Prasad Adhikari, Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, in his keynote Speech called the MSMEs sector as the growth engine of Nepal’s economy. Highlighting on the recent policy measures, he assured the industry that Nepal’s MSMEs are on way to emerge stronger and can partner for registering positive outcomes. Sushil Bhatta, CEO of Investment Board Nepal (IBN) recognised the challenges MSMEs are facing with the demand and supply shocks with the ongoing crisis emerged through the pandemic. He highlighted the importance of MSME for Nepal’s economy and job creation. He stressed on the need for creating awareness in MSMEs for skill development, entrepreneurial advancement, innovative practices, and new technology to give them a competitive edge at the regional and global platforms. “In the recent past, the trade between India and Nepal has reached to around 85% peak of pre-Covid times both in terms of export and import, said Kapidhwaja Pratap Singh, Commercial Representative at Indian Embassy in Nepal. He highlighted many importers in India are dependent on exports of Nepal, making it a two-way flow of commodities between India and Nepal. He added that localised trade is happening at a fast pace. This shows the immense networking and supply chain management development by business between India and Nepal. Anukool Bhatnagar, Managing Director and CEO of NSBL, in his presentation discussed financer perspective on the MSME’s in Nepal. He presented a nuanced view on key pressing policy issues that are impacting the way banks are landing to MSMEs. While the credit gap is still there, Nepal has evolved as a country with robust ecosystem for the old and new businesses. Bhatnagar appreciated the regulatory measures of NRB that are particularly sensitive to the concerns of MSMEs. Dr DK Aggarwal, President of PHDCCI, shared about India’s unique and deep relationship with Nepal. He called for an enduring partnership among the MSMEs at both sides where PHDCCI as the national apex chamber of India along with its partner CNI could provide the much needed platform. Sanjay Aggarwal, Senior Vice President of PHDCCI, said that it is high time that MSMEs were given their space as the Covid 19 has made a firm ground for strengthening bilateral relations between India and Nepal and these business can play pivotal roles in economic rebounding. Anil Khaitan, Former President of PHDCCI, presented a global overview about the effect of the pandemic on the economy and the required response to mitigate the challenges being faced by MSMEs. “In these adverse times, it is utmost important that businesses adopt the ways for frugal innovation”, he added. He said that the MSMEs need a clear definition that will be immensely helpful for letting them avail the market conditions efficiently. The webinar was moderated by Amb K V Rajan, Chairman, India-Nepal Centre, PHDCCI and India’s Former Ambassador to Nepal and Nirvana Chaudhary, Chairman, India-Nepal Centre (Nepal), Vice President of CNI and Managing Director of Chaudhary Group. Among other key participants were Anil Khaitan, Former President, PHDCCI; Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary General, PHDCCI; Atul K Thakur, Nodal Coordinator, India-Nepal Centre, PHDCCI; Madhav Lal, Former Secretary, Ministry of MSME, Government of India; Ashutosh Bharadwaj, MD, Noveau Manufacturing; Praveena Kala, Director, Paramount Cables and Former CGM-SBI; and Dr Binod Atreya, MD, BFIN.