Centre eyes increasing manufacturing share to 30% of GDP to make India Aatma Nirbhar: Gadkari

Nitin Gadkari, Minister for MSME, Road Transport and Highways, has said that MSME is the backbone of economy and that the eradication of poverty is the biggest mission for the government.

Gadkari, addressing the virtual session 'Role of MSME's in Aatma Nirbhar Bharat' during FICCI's 93rd Annual General Convention, said the government is taking steps towards recognising and facilitating rural entrepreneurs. He said there is a plan to increase the total turnover of Indian rural industry to Rs 2 lakh crore from current Rs 80,000 crore in the next 2 years.

"MSMEs contributes 30 per cent to India's GDP, 48 per cent in export and till now, 11 crore jobs have been created by the MSME sector," added Gadkari. To make India Aatma Nirbhar, the focus will be to increase the share of manufacturing sector from 24-26% to 30% of the GDP.

He said the government is focusing on rural industry to create employment potential and growth, which is a potential route to the eradication of poverty."Concentrating on Gaon, Gareeb, Majdoor and Kisan is the highest priority of the government," he said.

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The Union minister said India is at the edge of becoming one of the most significant players in electric vehicles and urged carmakers to promote alternative fuel. "Swadeshi alternative in the country without compromising on quality and cost is the main mission of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat," he said.

Dr Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI said the disruptions caused by COVID-19, has given an opportunity for Indian MSMEs to integrate with the global value chains. "As large companies continue to adopt new technologies of automation, AI, IoT and 3D Printing, we need to ensure that our MSMEs are not left behind and seamlessly integrate these technologies in their processes to compete globally," she said.

Harshpati Singhania, former FICCI chief, said there's need to look at rural India with a completely new vision and link it with urban India to achieve the objective of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat.

Gadkari also launched FICCI 'MSME Tool Kit', an online platform where aspiring and existing entrepreneurs can learn ways to plan and select right business to ensure sustainable growth of the business.

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