Issues with Indian SMEs: A Sustainability-Oriented Approach for Finding Potential Barriers

Manufacturing had never been more focused on environmental issues as of today. The path toward sustainability is not deprived of barriers for the successful realization of economic, environmental and social goals of manufacturing. Sustainability has become a major issue today for the better life of our future generations. The large industries are continually equipping themselves with increasing green manufacturing practices. But in practice, the scenario is quite different for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). SMEs in developing countries like India face a different set of challenges in the post-globalization era, such as stiff competition and reduced market domination from their multi-national counterparts, mainly due to their failure to embrace modernization and innovation. The present work tries to fill the gap by identifying the potential barriers for successful implementation of sustainability for Indian SMEs, after analyzing the issues faced by the manufacturing sector since 1991, till date, i.e., the post-globalization period in the Indian manufacturing industry.