Since the COVID-19 induced lockdown in March, the Uttar Pradesh government has pumped in as much as Rs 26,000 crore into the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector as a working capital loan.
During the post-lockdown period, the loan extended as working capital has benefited 10 lakh micro, small and medium enterprises. The loan was provided through various institutional measures and the Atmanirbhar stimulus package announced by the Union government in May.
The beneficiary MSMEs comprised about 4.35 lakh existing and 5.4 lakh new units across different industrial segments, and they were provided bank financing totalling Rs 10,727 crore and Rs 15,246 crore, respectively. under various Central and state government schemes.
“To boost the economic activities in the state, we are striving to provide funding to the MSMEs through commercial banks under the Atmanirbhar Bharat economic package of the Centre,” Additional Chief Secretary (MSME and Export Promotion) Navneet Sehgal said here.
He said the infusion of Rs 26,000 crore worth of capital in the state MSME sector had created around 20 lakh fresh employment opportunities for the youth.
“The state government is targeting to provide institutional credit to 20 lakh MSMEs in the current financial year 2020-21 and to generate 80 lakh employment opportunities,” he said.
At the same time, the Yogi Adityanath government has facilitated loans worth Rs 15,000 crore to the MSME units under its flagship One District, One Product (ODOP) scheme over the past three years, benefiting more than 3,000 enterprises/self-help groups.
The ODOP scheme was launched in 2018 to promote UP’s traditional and indigenous industries under the MSME umbrella by providing them institutional support of funding, training, marketing support etc.
Recently, the World Bank had also evinced interest in providing financial and institutional support to some projects under the ODOP scheme.
The World Bank has proposed to collaborate with UP under two different programmes. Besides, there is a proposal to develop the value chain of 14 agricultural and food processing products related to ODOP scheme with the aim of promoting entrepreneurship through integrated cluster development.
The government is targeting to augment the MSME exports in the next three years to touch the ambitious mark of Rs 3 lakh crore. During the previous 2018-19 and the 2019-20 fiscal years, the MSME exports from the state were to the tune of Rs 1.14 lakh crore and Rs 1.20 lakh crore, respectively.
The state is planning to conduct a study of leading industrialised states viz. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, to cut the per unit production cost of UP MSMEs for increasing their competitiveness.
To give impetus to the MSME exports, UP is already hammering out a new export promotion policy, which is likely to be put before the cabinet soon for approval.
Against the backdrop of the global companies looking to shift their production base out of China following the COVID-19 pandemic and the US-China trade war, UP is looking to woo multinational companies to set up plants in the industrial enclaves of the state.
