MSMEs Sector a Priority for the Government: Nitin Gadkari

A meeting via video conferencing was held by Union Minister of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Nitin Gadkari with representatives of Engineering Exports Promotion Council (EEPC) to discuss the post COVID growth of the sector.

He said that the global pandemic was an unprecedented situation and every sector has suffered but these are all short term difficulties and he said with a positive attitude every sector can help revive the economy. He added that this was only possible with cooperation and collaboration among the various sectors and partners in the economy.

He has said that the contribution of the MSME sector in the Indian Economy is laudable and has helped the GDP prosper and has also helped in creating employment opportunities. He said that 48% of the total export by India is done through the MSME sector and this could be further increased by adopting technological innovations and product development.

He mentioned that the sector should now pay attention to optimising logistics cost, labour cost, and transport cost to make India a manufacturing hub and has promised that up-gradation needs to be done to improve the packaging and shipping of the products to make India a global player.

He informed that the Ministry of MSME has created a fund that will help to provide equity support to the MSMEs.The MSMEs which show good returns, turnover, GST return record will be given a rating and will thus enjoy a 15% equity from the government.

He also said that the industries should focus more on Research and Development and should invest 2-3% of their profits there to bring in innovation to the Indian market.