| Type | Conference presentation |
| Event | FGKS Seventh Annual Conference |
| Organized by | Forum for Global Knowledge Sharing |
| Location | Pune, India |
| Date | November 30 – December 2, 2012 |
| Presented with | Keshab Das |
| Slides | Download the presentation (PDF) |
A talk delivered (with Keshab Das) at the Seventh Annual International Conference of the Forum for Global Knowledge Sharing, Pune (November 30 – December 2, 2012).
In short: Why some Indian states produce far more export-active small and medium enterprises than others — and what regional conditions, from technology to infrastructure, drive those differences.
About the talk
This presentation, delivered jointly with Keshab Das, examined the regional patterns behind the export performance of India’s small and medium manufacturing enterprises (SMEs). Rather than treating SME exports as a national aggregate, the talk asked where export-active SMEs cluster across Indian states and why — drawing out the local conditions that help smaller firms compete in international markets.
What the talk covered
- Export-active SMEs cluster heavily in a few states — a small number of states accounted for the bulk of India’s SME manufacturing exports, pointing to a strongly uneven regional geography.
- Regional conditions matter — local technological capability, agglomeration (firms clustering together), infrastructure, and access to inputs shaped how well a region’s SMEs exported.
- A reliance on imported technology — many exporting SMEs depended on imported rather than indigenously developed technology, with implications for their long-run competitiveness.
- Policy is necessarily regional — supporting SME exports means addressing the specific local conditions of lagging regions, not applying a single national template.
Get the slides
The full presentation is available as a PDF:
⇩ Download the presentation (PDF)
Related research on this site
This presentation led to the author’s published work, co-authored with Keshab Das:
- Small but Mighty: How Region Shapes the Export Success of Indian SMEs — the related published work on regional SME export advantage (Pradhan & Das).