President’s Column
Biswanath Bhattacharya
President, FOSMI
President’s Message for September 2026 Issue:
When Industry and Academia Walk Together, Innovation Becomes Practical, Knowledge Becomes Power, and Enterprises Become Future-Ready.
As we continue our journey of purposeful engagement with the MSME fraternity, FOSMI remains committed to creating meaningful platforms that empower our members through collaboration, innovation and institutional partnerships. In an era of rapid technological advancement and evolving business models, enterprises must remain agile, knowledge-driven and future-ready.
Recognising this need, FOSMI has consistently worked to bridge the gap between Industry and Academia, enabling our members to access new ideas, skilled talent and practical solutions that enhance competitiveness and sustainability. These efforts are aligned with our broader vision of building a resilient and innovation-driven MSME ecosystem.
A key initiative in this direction was the “Academia Meets Industry” interactive session organised in collaboration with JIS Group, Kolkata. The session facilitated constructive dialogue between academic experts and entrepreneurs—the industry partners—opening avenues for industry-linked student projects, internships, faculty consultancy, skill development and technological support. Such engagements help enterprises adopt modern practices, improve efficiency and access a skilled workforce aligned with industry needs.
Further strengthening this initiative, FOSMI enabled member participation in innovation platforms such as inCUbate’26, hosted by the University of Calcutta under RUSA 2.0 Entrepreneurship Hub. The platform provided opportunities to engage with start-ups, innovators and researchers across emerging sectors such as healthcare, sustainability, semi-conductor design and clean energy.
FOSMI celebrated its 67th Foundation Day and World MSME Day on 30th June 2026 at The Park, Kolkata. On this occasion, a special seminar was organised successfully on the theme “MSMEs & Bengal’s New Growth Story: Driving Industry, Innovation and Exports”bringing together market leaders and entrepreneurs from diverse sectors, along with representatives from Government Departments., banking, AI applications, renewable energy and other emerging sectors. Their participation made the event highly informative, engaging and successful. A significant highlight of the occasion was the signing of an MoU with JIS Group for Industry-Academia Collaboration.
For the third consecutive year, FOSMI has successfully organised the International Conference on “Enhancing Productivity and Global Competitiveness of MSMEs”, with the approval of the Ministry of MSME, Government of India. This remarkable achievement reflects FOSMI’s unwavering commitment to strengthening the MSME sector by promoting innovation, productivity and global competitiveness. The conference facilitated knowledge exchange and collaboration among industry leaders, policymakers, academia and international experts. The continued approval and support of the Ministry of MSME is a testament to the growing significance of the conference and its valuable contribution to the development of India’s MSME ecosystem. Such initiatives will help MSMEs improve productivity and enhance their competitiveness in the global market.
The Government of India continues to take significant steps to strengthen the MSME sector and create a more enabling business environment. Recent initiatives focus on technology-driven solutions, easier access to finance, faster resolution of delayed payments, improved procurement practices, market development support and wider digital access to government services. The integration of multilingual and AI-enabled platforms is expected to make these services more accessible. These initiatives reflect the Government’s continued commitment to building a resilient, inclusive and future-ready MSME ecosystem that contributes significantly to employment generation and economic growth. These amendments are also in line with the Government’s commitment to the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.
FOSMI remains committed to working closely with industry, academia, Government and other stakeholders to create new opportunities, strengthen enterprise capabilities and ensure that MSMEs remain competitive, innovative and future-ready.
