Goverment to focus on MSME sector: Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera

BHUBANESWAR: Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera said the State Government has decided to focus more on downstream sector and facilitate entrepreneurs coming forward for investing on value-added industries.

Inaugurating Odisha MSME Meet-2018 organised by Odisha Assembly of Small and Medium Enterprises (OASME) here on Sunday, Behera said policies are being formulated to nurture the downstream sector which has huge employment potential. “Ancillary and value-added industries are now the priority sector. We also are working to enhance ease of doing business ranking by taking various steps to help entrepreneurs and make the business environment more conducive for them,” he said.

MSME Minister Prafulla Kumar Samal said 544 projects have been approved through district level single window clearance authority between April 2014 and March this year bringing investment intends of `2040 crore.

“If these projects get implemented on time, as many as 21,730 people will get employment. Of the total proposed projects, 67 industries have already started production and 119 projects are under different stages of implementation. The number of MSMEs in the State is 13.20 lakh by end of March,” Samal informed. Stating that the second Make-in-Odisha conclave scheduled in November will focus on MSME and women entrepreneurs, Industry Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said the State Government aims to make business easy for entrepreneurs.

“The entrepreneurs should be more aware about what the Government is offering to them. They should be more demandable to get their things done. We urge entrepreneurs to visit our website and avail the benefits being offered,” he added.