Revival, Survival and Rise of MSME Post Covid-19 : Virtual Round Table with Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of MSME, Government of India

It’s a challenging time for SMEs, MSMEs, Financial Institutions as we are not only fighting with the pandemic but also an economic war said Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of MSME, Government of India while addressing the round table discussion with the 17 chapters of FLO, the Women’s wing of FICCI.

“Central and State government revenues have also dropped; Government is working on a social microfinance institution”. He further added “India is the fastest growing economy and with the cooperation of the stakeholders like FLO, the economy will surely revive.

He said, “The present turnover of village industry is 88,000cr and our current priority is the development of industries such as rural, agriculture, tribal and 115 aspirant districts while reducing the logistic, power and labour cost without compromising quality”.

Shri Gadkari emphasized on the need of Research and Product development along with uptake of advance technology, as key components for the success of MSMEs. He said “The current contribution of MSME to India’s GDP is 30% and 48% towards exports while creating 11 crores + jobs. This contribution from entrepreneurs is helping to eradicate poverty and empower rural India.”

“Government is providing subsidies to empower women entrepreneurs: For general category, 25% in rural area & 15% for urban area. For special category, 35% in rural area & 25% in urban area. Also, more than 30% of women-led micro-enterprises are assisted by the government every year. There is a lot of potential among women and they must take advantage of these schemes”, he further added.

Jahnabi Phookan, National President FLO said, “The participation of women in business has recently been recognised globally. MSME play a significant role in the development Nation while taking women along”.

“Our mission this year is to work towards Sustainable livelihood for women’s economic upliftment. FLO will be privileged to join hand with MSME and to work towards creating an enabling environment for such women entrepreneurs”, said Jahnabi.
“FLO has already taken steps to promote handicraft and handloom sector on a virtual platform. We are organising a virtual exhibition to promote entrepreneurs and provide them an opportunity to grow globally” she said.

The session was moderated by day Chair Dr Aarti Gupta, Chairperson of FLO Kanpur Chapter along with other members from 17 chapters across the country.