Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Thursday that MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) would play a significant role in making India a five-trillion dollar economy as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“On account of Uttar Pradesh’s manpower, which is the largest in the country, the economy of the state and that of the nation complement each other. UP has been the growth engine of the nation. If the MSMEs of the state improve, it will strengthen this sector at the national level,” the Chief Minister said while addressing a seminar on MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) in Lucknow on Thursday.

Further highlighting the importance of MSMEs, Yogi said, “This sector creates maximum jobs at local level with the lowest capital. Due to less burden on the government and low investment, the risk of banks lending money to this sector is also low.”

The Chief Minister said that the MSME sector had a rich tradition in Uttar Pradesh but due to lack of government promotion it started waning in the last decade. 

“In order to revive the sector, the state government announced ‘One District, One Product’ (ODOP) scheme during UP Diwas last year. Under it, local trade was promoted at local level and the work of artisans was showcased globally. 

“The government not only provided training to people associated with the sector but also provided them loans through various schemes. Around 14 lakh youth got jobs in the last 32 months. It is also a fact that due to MSMEs, UP is now at number one position in exports,” he said.

Yogi appealed to businessmen and traders associated with this sector to invest in the proposed defence industrial corridor coming up along Bundelkhand Expressway.

Union Minister of State for MSME, Pratap Chandra Sarangi, said that after agriculture, MSME was the second largest sector having potential of employment generation. However, he said, the development of this sector was often hampered due to non-cooperation by bankers. 

“The Government of India, in collaboration with Finance Ministry, is now finding a solution for this issue. In future, banks may be answerable if they deny loan to proper candidates,” Sarangi said  

Earlier at the function, the welcome address was delivered by ASSOCHAM vice-president, Vineet Agarwal while the vote of thanks was proposed by MSME and Export Promotion Minister Sidharth Nath Singh. 

Prominent among those present included Principal Secretary (Khadi and MSME) Navneet Sehgal, Jyoti Prakash Gadia and Lalit Khaitan.