Role of MSMES in Employment Generation in India A Study of Shoe Cluster in Agra District

Abstract

The present study is aimed to assess the role of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Employment Generation with reference to Agra Shoe Cluster (ASC). The earlier researches highlighted only poverty or its challenges. For this study, the main objective was to identify the factors and measure their effect on the employment generation ability of MSME units in Agra Shoe Cluster, also keeping into account the contribution and performance status. A well-structured questionnaire has been designed to ascertain the outlook of Agra Shoe Cluster for employment. The Random Sampling method has been followed for the purpose of achieving research objectives by means of testing the hypotheses. During the analysis both types of statistics: - Descriptive (Mean, Average Growth Rate, Compound Annual Growth Rate) and Inferential (Regression, Factor Analysis and Kruskal Wallis) statistics have been used. The Reliability Test was conducted in order to determine the internal consistency of the research instrument used in the study. It was found that composite reliability of scale was 0.892 which reflects the reasonable degree of reliability and being fit for analysis. newlineThe study reveals that the MSME sector has a significant contribution in employment creation at the national level. Additionally, it was also studied that the maximum share of export in total sales was of Leather Footwears. During the study, the researcher identified seventeen items under five factors through Factor Analysis where the overall sum of variance was 64.679% by the factors which were extracted. Furthermore, it was found that these factors affected the employment generation ability of Agra Shoe Cluster by 68.5%. The researcher also found that it is a male-oriented industry with the majority of the ASC firms working in the partnership form of business. It also states that in the MSME sector, Micro and Small units create more job opportunities than Medium-sized firms for labours. newlineThe researcher concludes with suggestive measures for improvement in the existing status of employment generation ability in Agra Shoe Cluster. newline newline