Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) industries will play a vital role in fulfilling the resolution of Developed India-2047, adding these industries have been given special priority in the Budget.
The Finance Minister said this while addressing a discussion programme with MSME marble cluster units at ‘Marble Bhawan’ in Sukher Industrial Area of Udaipur on Thursday evening.
The programme was chaired by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi. Finance Secretary M. Nagaraju, SIDBI Chairman Manoj Mittal and Udaipur MP Manna Lal Rawat among others.
Addressing the programme, Finance Minister Sitharaman said that the contribution of Mewar to India’s culture and prosperity just cannot be expressed in words.
“Dialogue with stakeholders is necessary in implementing the Budget announcements. The Budget is for the public… after the Budget is presented to the public, we make amendments based on the feedback. The participation of MSMEs is important in realising the vision of Developed India-2047. Therefore, it has been given special priority in the Budget,” she said.
In this series, dialogue programmes are to be conducted with 250 MSME clusters across the country, which has started from Thursday from the Marble Cluster in Udaipur.
She said that it is necessary to hold discussions with stakeholders to understand the needs of the MSME industry of the Mewar region. Sitharaman said that Small Industries Development Bank (SIDBI) is now providing loans directly to micro industries, which is a matter of great relief. Now, convenient loans will be easily made available to micro industries.
Meanwhile, MSME Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said that India will soon become the third largest economy in the world.
Speaking at the programme, he said that efforts are being made to eliminate unemployment through such dialogue programmes across the country.
“MSME sector has a big contribution in eliminating unemployment. Micro and small industries are the backbone of India’s economy, which contributes 30 per cent to the country’s economy and provides employment to 20 crore people of the country. It is a matter of pride for us that today, the country is the fifth largest economy of the world under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Soon, the country is going to become the third-largest economy of the world.
“While the rate of global economic progress is 3.2 per cent, India is growing at the rate of 7 per cent in terms of economic progress,” the Minister said.
At the event, MoUs were signed between the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and Udaipur Marble Association to promote the marble industry in Udaipur district.
Provisions have been made for financial assistance, training etc., to the marble units under the MoU.
