Ahead of elections to three north eastern states next month, Union Minister for Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Narayan Rane on Monday said the Centre has earmarked Rs. 76,000 crore to accelerate investment in the MSME sector in north eastern states for 2022–23.
Rane, who is here to jointly inaugurate a two-day ‘Regional Conference on Sustainable Development of MSMEs in the North East Region (NER)’ with Chief Minister Manik Saha, pointed out that the funding of MSMEs had been substantially increased from the Rs. 68,000 crore sanctioned for 2021–22. Three north eastern states including Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland are slated to go to the polls over the next two months.
“The per capita income in Tripura has increased to Rs. 1.25 lakh while the national average stands at 1.80 lakh. The Central government wants the state’s per capita income should not be less than the national average. And, (consequently) the MSME ministry has been pumping funds through different schemes to boost the economy”, he said at a press conference.
“In Tripura, the fund allocated under MSME has been utilized properly. It is expected that the north eastern state’s per capita income will be Rs. 2.50 lakh by next three years” he said.
During the ‘Regional Conference on Sustainable Development of MSMEs in NER’ Hon’ble Union Minister for MSME Shri Narayan Rane highlighted the significant role of Northeastern MSMEs and their contribution to make India ‘Self Reliant’. #MSME #NSIC #KVIC #SCSTHUB #COIRBOARD pic.twitter.com/uhWSOTvTwL
— Ministry of MSME (@minmsme) January 9, 2023
Pointing out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked all the Union Ministers to visit north eastern states and utilise their respective ministries to speed up development, he said MSME is doing well in states like Assam and Sikkim as far as implementation is concerned.
He said the north eastern state can do better in tourism fostering higher employment generation. “I have discussed the matter with Chief Minister Manik Saha and Chief Secretary JK Singha and we will boost tourism here. Tripureswari temple can be attractive for the tourists if proper facilities are created”, he said.
“Since the election is round the corner, I appeal to people to support the BJP who are already running the government here for growth and development, ” he said.
On a specific query, the Union Minister said he wishes to campaign for BJP in the poll-bound state if the Chief Minister invites him.
At the start of the ‘Regional Conference on Sustainable Development of MSMEs in NER’ Hon’ble Union Minister for MSME Shri Narayan Rane along with other Ministry officials visited various stalls to interact with sellers of NER.#MSME #NSIC #KVIC #SCSTHUB #Coirboard #AmritMahotsav pic.twitter.com/XOOEa3Z3bS
— Ministry of MSME (@minmsme) January 9, 2023
The conference showcased launch of various initiatives of the Ministry of MSME, Government of India, and the State Government of Tripura. The new initiatives launched by dignitaries during the programme were RAMP (Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance) portal, Linking of NER Portal under Udyam Shakti, Inauguration of the Gomati City Gas Project, inauguration of West Tripura Bamboo Mat Cluster under SFURTI scheme and inauguration of new building of KVIC (Khadi & Village Industries Commission) & TKVIB (Tripura Khadi & Village Industries Board).
