Naidu stresses on development of each section of society

Top Stories

»	49% Indian startups now from tier 2, 3 cities: Jitendra Singh
»	'India ranks 3rd in global startup ecosystem & number of unicorns'
»	Tripura exported over 9K tonnes of pineapples in 2 years
»	CPI inflation eases to 6.71% in July, IIP falls to 12.3%
»	Rupee depreciates 12 paise to close at 79.64 against US dollar

SME Times News Bureau | 21 Sep, 2017
Stressing that the country will develop only with the uplift of the most downtrodden sections, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi on Wednesday said government schemes like Make in India, Skill India, Digital India and Clean India should reach everyone.

"When the most downtrodden and most undernourished sections of the society are uplifted, only then will the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi, Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay and government's ambition of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' will be fulfilled," he said at the National SC/ST Hub Confluence.

"Unless all the sections of the society are developed, we cannot shape a developed country," he said.

He emphasised that with the aim to encourage them and provide technical knowledge and market to sell the finished products, the government had come up with the SC/ST Hub.

"Government has made a policy that whatever items they purchase, they should be at least 4 percent from SC/ST units. But today, we have less than half percent being procured from SC/ST units," he said.

Setting up of industries was important for the development of our country, he said. "This will solve the unemployment problem and increase the income. Industry and agriculture are the two eyes of the people. Both of them are important for the overall development of the country."

"We talk of Stand-up, Start-up, Incubation and Innovation. This focus on skills, entrepreneurial development should get further momentum. Make in India, Skill India, Digital India and Clean India -- all these programmes should reach every section of our society and everybody must get their due," said Naidu.

"Only then will the development will be meaningful."

"If you do not reach certain sections of the people, then the development is incomplete. Capacity building is important, credit availability is important, technology up-gradation is also important," he explained.

He stressed that with Make in India envisaging to push contribution of the manufacturing sector to 25 percent of the GDP by 2022, the MSME (Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises ) sector would be required to play a critical role in achieving the goal.

"This sector not only contributes to industrialization of backward and rural areas but also helps in reducing regional imbalances. By its very nature, this sector acts as an equalizer and offers vast opportunities to people from all walks of life to become successful entrepreneurs and achieve their dreams," he said.

"As a result, there have been many entrepreneurs from the marginalized communities. But lack of proper guidance and resources is hampering their economic success and this led to policy intervention from the government," he added.