MSME sanctions Rs 23.85 lakhs for development of printing and packaging cluster in Ludhiana

The decision was taken during the 30th steering committee meeting of the MSME Cluster Development Programme (CDP) held at Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi.

Confirming the news, Kamal Chopra, general secretary, OPA said, “We had presented a Diagnostic Study Report for the development of printing and packaging cluster at Ludhiana. Government of India (GOI) has approved the DSR and sanctioned Rs. 23.85 lakhs for the soft intervention for this purpose.”

OPA has swiftly constituted an SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) in the name of Printing & Packaging Cluster Development Company to conduct the detailed project report (DPR). This report will be submitted to GOI for the approval of common facility centre (CFC) for this cluster. SPV means an entity established for a specific purpose.

In the report submitted to the MSME (a copy of which is available with PrintWeek India) OPA had put forward various suggestions. Few of the suggestions are – workshops on waterless offset printing, rotogravure printing, CtM technology and packaging; training sessions for repair and maintenance of machinery, as well as, detailed sessions on management practices such as 5S, Six Sigma, Kaizen, Pokayoke and Lean Manufacturing. “Adapting such practices will lead to cost cutting and quality improvement,” added Chopra.

OPA will also initiate awareness programs on IPRs, TQM and ISO 9000 certification. The suggestion made under the CDP also includes setting up a technical library for easy access to information about the printing and packaging technology. In addition, a Common Facility Centre would be set up in Ludhiana which would provide testing and R&D facilities and training on repairing and maintenance of machinery.

OPA has estimated a cost of Rs 31 lakhs for the program. Apart from the government funding, it plans to raise the remaining funds through SPV and its private partners.

“With little encouragement and some technical guidance the cluster has the potential to be developed into a major hub of printing and packaging not only for Indian needs but for internal outsourced jobs too,” Chopra said.

Ludhiana is hub of printing and packaging printing units in Punjab, consisting around 500 packaging printing units and 100 printing units. The region has an approximate turnover of Rs 1000-crore, of which Rs 50-crore is generated from export jobs. It employs around 20,000 people, both directly and indirectly.