Lucknow: Emphasizing the MSME units are the source of livelihood for crores of people in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said that jobs will be provided to seven and a half lakh youths through the PM and CM Internship Programmes that are running in the state.
The Chief Minister added that the MSME department should develop MSME clusters by marking land along Purvanchal, Bundelkhand and Ganga Expressways. He also directed concerned authorities to take forward setting up of Unity Malls in Lucknow, Varanasi and Agra and providing facilities to the entrepreneurs of the MSME sector as per their requirements.
CM Yogi said all this while participating in the loan distribution program organized by banks at Lok Bhavan, Lucknow, on the occasion of International MSME Day-2023. A total of Rs 20,000 crore was disbursed simultaneously to 3.41 lakh MSME entrepreneurs for the overall development of the MSME sector on the occasion.
The Chief Minister said, "Under the loan distribution programme, loans are being simultaneously distributed to 3.41 lakh MSME entrepreneurs in the state. This sector is going to provide maximum employment after agriculture. The entrepreneurs of the MSME sector have given a new identity to Uttar Pradesh by infusing new life in this sector."
During the event, the CM announced the opening of Unity Mall in Avadh Shilpgram of the capital city, Lucknow, within three months of the first phase of the project. Chief Minister Yogi said that there was a time when the MSME sector in Uttar Pradesh was in the jaws of death.
"Due to a lack of cooperation from the government, the entrepreneurs in this sector had become frustrated and disappointed. However, in the past six years, with the inspiration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our government has been running nearly 96 lakh MSME units, which serve as the source of livelihood for crores of people", CM Yogi said.
He added, "Uttar Pradesh is the first state in the country to implement the "One District One Product" (ODOP) scheme to keep the MSME sector alive, which has now become a brand within the country. Whenever MSME and ODOP are mentioned in the country today, the name of Uttar Pradesh comes first on people's lips."
Praising the ODOP scheme in the state, the Chief Minister asserted that Uttar Pradesh is one of the leading states in the country to receive a GI tag for 52 of its products.
"Varanasi alone has obtained GI tags for 23 products. We have 75 districts, and in the coming time, many other products of Uttar Pradesh will get a GI tag. The day is not far when the traditional products of Uttar Pradesh will be known both within the country and across the world", he added.
CM Yogi also inaugurated a Biogas Plant in Gram Mandar Deh Mafi (Mandari) Bhagwat, Prayagraj, and a Woolen Yarn Production Center in Gram Ganja. Furthermore, he distributed funds to 14 MSME entrepreneurs under various schemes of the State Government. Additionally, an MoU was exchanged between the Government of Uttar Pradesh and the Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP) in the program under the guidance of the CM.
Chief Minister Yogi distributed certificates to 11 ODOP entrepreneurs whose products have got GI tags. These include entrepreneurs of Dholak from Amroha, Tala from Aligarh, Home Furnishing from Baghpat, Shajar Pathar from Banda, Handloom from Barabanki, Nagina Good Craft from Bijnor, Kalpi Handmade Paper from Jalaun, Gora Pathar from Mahoba, Tarakashi from Mainpuri, Horn Craft from Sambhal, and Bakhira Metal Product from Sant Kabir Nagar.
The Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Khadi and Village Industries, Silk Industry, Handloom and Textile Industry Rakesh Sachan, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, Amitabh Kumar, Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra, GI expert Padma Shri Awardee Rajnikanth, and other officials and MSME Department staffs were present at the event. —ANI
