A Study On Cottage And Micro Enterprises In Socio- Economic Development Of Kaliabor Of Nagaon District, Assam

Abstract

The Cottage and Micro Enterprises play an important role in the industrial and economic development of a country. This sector consists around 95 per cent of the industrial unit and contributes 40 per cent of the total industrial output of the country and 35 per cent of the direct export. It provides employment to about 19.3 million people (Annual Report, 2009, MSME), which is the second highest next to agriculture. With the vast untapped resource potential the Indian industrialization can be termed as being its "infancy” when compared to the industrial developments elsewhere in the world. Some efforts towards industrialization have been made in the last three decades but, in spite of all round efforts, India is still considered as an industrially backward country and the fact is more prominent in North Eastern Region including the state of Assam. Though the State has resources in abundance, the growth and development of cottage micro enterprise in Assam is not very satisfactory in comparison to other parts of the country. The Nagaon district is one of the most industrially backward districts of the state. The study was conducted in Kaliabor area of Nagaon District with the prime objective of examining the present status of cottage and micro enterprise and also finds out the problems of such unit. The study concludes that the micro enterprise sector is one of the largest employment potential sectors which can generate more employment opportunities and income for the development of the nation. To achieve this objective several organizational, managerial, technical and marketing problems of this sector are to be removed in an integrated manner.