NEW DELHI, Oct. 13 -- India's vast base of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) need larger companies to do more than buy from them: they must help smaller suppliers upgrade technology, develop skills and move up the value chain, the government's top MSME official said on Tuesday. The push comes as India seeks to expand manufacturing, raise export competitiveness and help smaller businesses withstand repeated global disruptions.

Bharat Khera, secretary, ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises, said the Centre's production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes had helped create manufacturing champions that brought smaller vendors into their supply chains. Larger companies must now extend that support through technology transfer, i...