MSMEs have great potential to become the export strength of the country: Nitin Gadkari
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Apprenticeship Pakhwada 2019 Gadkari stressed upon the need to reduce dependence on imports and move towards growing traditional skills that will inch us closer to realising the ambition of creating a $5 trillion economy.
Union Minister for MSME, Nitin Gadakri
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Apprenticeship Pakhwada 2019 on Wednesday, Union Minister of MSME, Nitin Gadkari said that MSMEs hold great potential to become the export strength of the country.
KNNIndia reported the minister as saying, “It is important to understand and map the demand for skilling programmes in SME cluster associations in growth areas and industries, especially in the rural, agricultural, and tribal areas of the country. The MSME sector has enormous scope for growth and a great need of skilled manpower for sericulture, horticulture, tribal arts and paintings, honey, bamboo, etc, sectors that have great potential of becoming export strengths for the country.''
''In fact, we need to reduce our dependence on imports and move towards growing in traditional skills that will inch us closer to realising the ambition of creating a $5 trillion economy,” he added.
On September 30, Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, launched the 15-day Apprenticeship Pakhwada in Delhi, announcing the need to promote awareness about apprenticeship training among establishments and employers across sectors. Many significant reforms were announced, including a stipend to apprentices between Rs 5,000 and Rs 9,000.
Strengthening the Skill India Mission, the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), with the support of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, has been collaborating with various stakeholders including industry, institutions, training providers, and SSCs to empower and train youth with employable skills.
The Apprenticeship Pakhwada, which saw State governments and the industry come together for a commitment of seven lakh apprentices in the current fiscal, ended in a grand closing ceremony.
Recently, Nitin Gadkari announced that the government is ready to come out with special policies to promote import-substitute products terming employment generation as one of his priorities.
Addressing the India-Singapore symposium, organised by CII in New Delhi, Gadkari had said, "One of the most important things is that we have to raise the employment potential and it is my priority, both in rural and urban areas.”
"There are a lot of products in MSMEs. My suggestion is to identify import-substitute products and then we can make special policies. This will reduce imports," he said.
