Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises organised a day-long programme here today on the theme of ‘Legal Reforms in the MSME Ecosystem’ of Udyami Bharat - MSME Day event. Speaking on the occasion Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law & Justice, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal structured his deliberation on three vital points. He emphasises the new Criminal laws are for providing ‘justice’ in contrast to colonial legislations where focus was on ‘punishment’. He observed that amendments in laws have been done with complete consultation with stakeholders. He said, firstly, it is important to understand that India has entered the era of Industry 4.0, tracing the history of evolution from Industry 1.0 to its present stage, he reiterated that the present era’s latest technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, 3D printing, Robotics and its effect on the legal parlance has to be understood while working on legal reforms in the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises sector. Secondly, he underlined the growing importance of Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) and mediation in solving disputes. He asserted that having an amicable solution is the best solution for any legal issues and the Public Sector Enterprises could also benefit from such ADR mechanism of dispute resolution between parties. Thirdly, reinforcing on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision, he said that 21^st century is going to be India’s one and, in this context, India has the requisite potential to be the hub of Arbitration.

Delving into the theme of the conference Dr Rajiv Mani, Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of law and Justice said that Institutional arbitration comes with the advantage of better streamlined faster disposal of issues and effective way to resolve legal issues. He asserted that the MSME sector is the backbone of the economy and then the lengthy dispute resolution in traditional legal system could be avoided if the parties wish to resolve their issues via Alternate Dispute resolution and mediation.

Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Jitan Ram Manjhi presided over ‘Udyami Bharat - MSME Day event. The Minister of State for MSME, Sushri Shobha Karandlaje along with other dignitaries highlighted the growing role of micro, small and medium enterprises in the growth of the economy.

The senior officials of Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Ministry of Law and Justice were also present on the occasion.

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PK/SB