Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today called for linking Start-Ups with Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector and said that the Government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking all measures including necessary policy changes to strengthen the MSME.

Addressing the 8^th India International MSME & StartUp Summit and Expo, as chief guest, Dr Jitendra Singh said, this sector has played an important role in shaping the Atma Nirbhar Bharat and added that the government has substantially increased the budget in the last eight years to strengthen the MSME sector. The Minister also informed that the government is encouraging unique local products to reach the global markets and, in the process, strengthening the Indian economy.

Dr Jitendra Singh reminded the audience about the commitment of the Modi government for making MSMEs globally competitive and quoted Prime Minister’s Independence Day Address delivered on 15^th of this month as saying, “I also call upon the private sector to come forward. We have to dominate the world. One of the dreams of a self-reliant India is to ensure that India does not lag behind in fulfilling the needs of the world. Even if it is the MSMEs we have to take our products to the world with 'Zero Defect - Zero Effect'. We have to be proud of Swadeshi”.

Referring to the introductory remarks of Rajnish Goenka, Chairman, MSME-DF, wherein he said that the MSMEs account for almost one-third of India’s economy and over 11 crore people are connected with the sector, Dr Jitendra Singh said, even the Union Budget 2022-23 has presented a comprehensive package of policy announcements aimed at supporting the recovery of MSME, hit hard by COVID pandemic.

Dwelling on the theme of India@100, Amrit Kaal-Opportunities for Youth, Dr Jitendra Singh said, today Indian youth is impatient to turn their dreams into ideas and ideas into reality and the launch of Startup India in 2015 by Prime Minister Modi had opened floodgates of opportunities for them. The Minister also gave the example of the Purple Revolution in Jammu and Kashmir, which transformed the lives of farming community beyond imagination by adopting to highly remunerative lavender cultivation.

Dr Jitendra Singh was pleasantly surprised to find huge number of Agri MSME stalls and pointed out that a new wave of Agritech start-ups has emerged in the country in the last few years and these start-ups are solving problems related to supply chain management, improper infrastructure and inability of farmers to access a wider range of markets. He also said that young entrepreneurs are now quitting their jobs in the IT sector and MNCs to establish their own startups, as these young entrepreneurs are now beginning to realise that investing in agriculture is one of the very few safe and profitable businesses.

Dr. Jitendra Singh concluded by saying that one can't visualise India @2047 through the prism of 2022. He said, Narender Modi’s 8 years as Prime Minister gave India vision for 2047 and laid the roadmap for the next 25 years of Amrit Kal which would witness the ascent of India as a front-rank nation in the world.

Earlier, Dr Jitendra Singh visited the different stalls of the 8^th India International MSME & StartUp Expo and interacted with some of the MSME entrepreneurs.

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