Union Minister for MSME, Shri Jitan Ram Manjhi said that the MSMEs will be a key force in the movement towards Atmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat. Addressing the day long event of International MSME Day, ‘Udyami Bharat’  he emphasized the need to deepen and broaden the effort through an inclusive and focused approach, especially in the rural areas and hinterland as per vision of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Shri Manjhi said in a fast-changing industrial landscape, the MSMEs need to align themselves to adopting digital and technological solutions. He said as part of the ongoing reforms of the government, legal reforms in the MSME sector will work as a force multiplier.

Shri Manjhi said  six pillars have been identified on which our endeavours would be built – (i) formalization and access to credit (ii) increased access to market  and e-commerce adoption (iii) increased productivity through modern technology (iv) enhanced skill levels and digitalization in the service sector (v) support to Khadi, Village, and Coir industry to globalize them (vi) empowerment of women, artisans, through enterprise creation. He said the work before us is clear-cut.  There is a great need to build upon these six pillars in a meticulous and yet smart way, he added.  

The Union Minister dedicated the MSME TEAM Initiative and Yashasvini Campaign to the MSMEs. The MSME TEAM Initiative aims at facilitating five lakh micro and small enterprises for onboarding on to the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) by providing financial assistance for onboarding, cataloguing, account management, logistics, packaging material and design. The half of these beneficiary MSEs will be women owned enterprises.

The Yashasvini campaign is a series of mass awareness campaigns for formalizing women owned informal micro enterprises and providing capacity building, training, handholding and mentorship to the women owned enterprises.  A series of campaigns will be organized by the Ministry of MSME in collaboration with other Central Ministries/ Departments/ State Governments and Women Industry Associations during the FY 24-25 in various parts, focusing Tier 2 and 3 cities in the country.

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal spoke about the areas of reforms that would make the MSMEs globally competitive. Shri Meghwal said the Modi Government is ensuring 'ease of doing business' and 'ease of living' through legal reforms and technological innovations towards strengthening the micro, small and medium enterprises.

The Union Minister of State for MSME, Sushri Shobha Karandlaje outlined the contribution of the MSMEs to the country’s employment, manufacturing output, and exports and emphasised the need for MSMEs to focus on innovation, creativity, and sustainable development to remain competitive.

The event was also addressed by Mr. Auguste Tano Kouame, Country Director, The World Bank, Justice (Retd.) Hemant Gupta, Chairperson - India International Arbitration Centre, Delhi, Shri Rajiv Mani, Secretary - Ministry of Law and Justice and Shri S.C.L. Das, Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

The event saw the participation from Central and State Governments, legal fraternity, academia, the World Bank and other Multilateral agencies, and Industrial Associations.

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MJPS/NSK