The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Salem zone urged the State government to establish a Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE) facilitation cell, a district-level Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) consultative committee, and nodal offices for the Bureau for Facilitating MSMEs of Tamil Nadu (FaMe TN) and Tamil Nadu Food Processing and Agri Export Promotion Corporation (TNAPEx) at Salem. At present, the MSE facilitation cells are functioning in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, and Tirunelveli. However, the members from the Salem region face difficulties in engaging with MSE, as they either have to travel to Coimbatore or Chennai to address their grievances. CII Salem zone president Boopalan said, with Salem’s strategic location, increased manufacturing activity, and the presence of a large number of MSMEs from sectors including textiles, food processing, and fabrication, establishing an MSE facilitation cell here would support and improve access for MSMEs.“This would lead to faster dispute resolution, enhance the recovery of delayed payment, and support the overall growth of MSMEs in the region, particularly in Salem, Namakkal, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, and Kallakurichi,” he said.Likewise, establishing the MSME consultative committee at Salem district, led by the district Collector as its chairperson and general manager, would support the industry in sharing their grievances on a common platform regularly with the authorities, and would aid in the government’s efforts towards promoting ease of doing business, Mr. Boopalan added.Stating that establishing nodal offices of FaMe TN and TNAPEx at Salem, Mr. Boopalan said that it will help understanding the sector-specific MSME issues and spearhead various initiatives related to MSE clusters, market promotion schemes, and hand-holding support to MSE entrepreneurs. As of date, both FaMe TN and TNAPEx have their offices only in Chennai, he said and added that a representation was submitted to Minister for MSMEs P. Mathan Raja regarding the issue. Published - July 21, 2026 07:01 pm IST