Nitin Gadkari’s mantra to uplift very small enterprises; says microfinancing is need of hour

Nitin Gadkari said that a little financial, technological, and marketing support, can help very small enterprises to grow, which in turn will boost employment opportunities. (Bloomberg image)

Credit and Finance for MSMEs: In an effort to uplift very small enterprises such as fishing, ferry walas, rickshaw pullers, bee-keeping, etc, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that a policy of micro-financing is need of the hour for micro-businesses in rural, agricultural, and tribal sector. Nitin Gadkari added that people involved in such small enterprises are hard-working, skilled, talented, and honest but due to lack of finance, they can not add any value to their businesses or works. While addressing ‘Pan IIT Global E-Conclave on reimagining MSMEs and Livelihoods’, he further said that with a little financial, technological, and marketing support, they can grow their business, which in turn will boost employment opportunities in rural, agricultural, and tribal areas, and will also give strength to India’s GDP.

A large portion of India’s population is involved in very small enterprises and are economically and socially backward and lack sufficient financial support for them. Recently, in another effort to provide cushion to the livelihoods of such workers, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the PM SVANidhi scheme under PM Modi’s Atma Nirbhar Bharat package. Through the PM SVANidhi scheme, the government aimed to give a working capital loan of up to Rs 10,000 to street vendors. The move was brought in the wake of ongoing disruption in businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic.  

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Meanwhile, MSME minister Nitin Gadkari has invited suggestions to develop a model to help and finance the socially, economically, and educationally backward entrepreneurs. He urged that this model should be transparent, corruption-free, IT-enabled with less procedural hassles, and needing least permissions, etc. The minister also believed that after being approved by NITI Ayog and Finance Ministry, it can support a lot of enterprises involved in various very small enterprises. While the pandemic has swept the profits of large corporations, the small businesses across the country were forced to shut down or come to a standstill during the nationwide lockdown.