ABSTRACT
The small-scale industrial sector has a critical role to play in achieving the objective of faster and more inclusive growth in India. Notwithstanding the vast employment potential of the small-scale industrial sector and its share in total output and exports, an issue of concern has been its abysmally low level of productivity, caused by various factors such as a low level of technology in use, limited access to inputs and credits, and an unfavourable market environment. Some of these problems seem to be getting exacerbated, rather than moderated, by the process of economic reform and globalization. Accessing the market, inter alia, is one of the crucial constraints for most of the micro and small enterprises (MSEs), due to a lack of clear and well-developed strategies to target and access market opportunities for selling their products. So it is not only important to understand the nature of market access, but also the factors responsible for the process that shapes market opportunities to expand or limit.
