Italy on auto hub recce

Jamshedpur, Dec. 19: If this review visit goes right, small-scale industries in Adityapur may just become an auto component ancillary hub for Italian auto giants.

An Italian government and auto industry delegate will be surveying this weekend the small and medium enterprises here for their potential to be an auto component outsourcing hub. This will be part of the tour of many cities to set up three hubs in India.

“To gain an edge in competition, auto companies are looking at India to reduce cost by deploying small players here,” said R.K. Sinha, president, Adityapur Small Industries Association.

The team would visit a few plants in the area to see if they could meet the capacity needs of the auto industry in Italy, Sinha added.

This is a joint initiative of the Indian and Italian governments, which would set up nine hubs — three each for auto components, surgical instruments and leather.

The bonus in this entire process would be an investment that the Italian counterparts would make in the infrastructure of the state or companies, if required. The survey will look at the potential, technical and financial strength of the industries, while the Italian companies would fulfil the infrastructure requirement, said Sinha.

Financial institutions such as the Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) are being roped in to make the process smooth.

“This is a huge potential for the small industries, which could not reach further than the backyards of the Indian companies. The state government will play an important role,” he said.

He told The Telegraph that the Italian joint venture is even prepared to invest in airports or facilities for cargo movement, which will require the Jharkhand government’s approval.

This, Sinha fears, may act as an hindrance given the unstable government the state has.