Funds for MSME Development in North East Returning to Delhi

Funds for MSME Development in North East Returning to Delhi

Irony of Industrialization

* Centre sanctions Rs 1000 crore for 2018-19

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, Aug 20: At a time when there has been a deep resentment against lack of industrialization in North East, the huge amount of funds meant for development of micro and medium industries in the region are going back to the Centre due to non-utilization.

The situation has reached such a pass that many of the leading NE-based industry and trade promotion organizations are not availing funds of the Union Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) to visit different industrially advanced countries and States in India to get ideas to promote industries.

Director of the MSME Development Institute, Guwahati Sreenivasulu told reporters here on Monday that fund to the tune of about Rs 200 crore had to be sent back to the Centre during the last financial year (2017-18). He said the DONER ministry was unhappy over non-utilization of such huge amount of funds for development of micro and medium industries.

According to Sreenivasulu even though the Union Ministry of MSME has several projects especially for the North East, a major chunk of funds meant for such projects are remaining unutilized. He said it is unfortunate that there are hardly few takers for the MSME projects.

There are about 40,000 MSMEs in the North East which is quite significant comparing to other parts of the country. Sreenivasulu said going by the potential in the North East there should have been a minimum of 2 lakh MSMEs in the region. There are 55 MSME development organizations in the country and 14 offices are in the Northeast.

Sreenivasulu said the Centre has doubled the budget of the MSME Ministry for the current fiscal and the North East is likely to get funds to the tune of Rs 1000 crore for this year. He said the people of the region particularly the younger generation must be sensitized about the MSME projects to ensure effective utilization of funds.

“Too much dependence on government jobs and lack of motivation among youths to become self-employed are prime reasons for not finding takers for MSME projects. Youths must be motivated to become enterprising and take up projects which create employment avenues for them and others,” Sreenivasulu said.

Sreenivasulu said that his institute is primarily engaged in the implementation of various schemes of the Ministry of MSME, Govt of India towards the encouragement of self-employment amongst unemployed youths as well as promotion and development of MSME Sector in the region.

During the press conference, Sreenivasulu enumerated the various development schemes for MSMEs which have been devised for inclusive growth and development across the country thereby reducing the regional imbalances. He also said that that the schemes of the Ministry are central sector schemes in which a specific percentage of the budgetary allocation are earmarked for SC, ST and NE’s population.

The MSME Development Institute, Guwahati, established in 1958, promotes the development of micro and small enterprises in the states of Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh through six branch institutes located at Tezpur, Silchar, Diphu, Itanagar, Shillong, and Tura.

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