New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS): Cheap Chinese imported items are giving tough competition to Indian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), parliament was told on Monday.

These MSMEs manufacture electrical and electronics, mechanical and metallurgical and chemicals, glass and ceramic products.

As many as 12 product groups, largely manufactured by the Indian MSMEs, were adversely affected by Chinese imports, according to the data compiled by the director general of commercial intelligence and statistics.

"Imports from China for the 12 affected product groups grew at a higher rate than all the other countries combined during 2011-12 to 2014-15," union Minister for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Kalraj Mishra told the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Monday.

Indian imports from China for the 12 product groups accounted to 74 percent of the total imports from China in 2014-15," he added.

"The government has been imposing anti-dumping duties, permitted under the WTO, for restricting imports when such imports have been established as unfairly affecting the market for goods and services produced by Indian industries," Mishra said.

The anti-dumping duties are executed by the Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD).

The government also imposes safeguard duties to protect domestic industries against a surge of imports from other countries. This mechanism is operated by the Directorate General of Safeguards (DGSG), Mishra said.

The Indian government is implementing a slew of measures for MSMSEs to deal with the flood of Chinese imports.

Some of the measures include National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme (NMCP); Credit Guarantee Scheme; Credit Linked Capital subsidy Scheme; Cluster Development Programme; Market Development Assistance Scheme and Vendor Development Programme for Ancillarisation.

These measures help Indian MSMEs to grow and strengthen their competitiveness to face the Chinese imports in the country, Mishra said in the written reply.