Nitin Gadkari at 'Namaste Bharat Exhibition': "MSME is the backbone of Indian economy"

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector is the 'backbone of Indian Economy' while speaking at the inauguration of 'Namaste Bharat Exhibition' on Thursday. He added that so far the sector has created 11 crore jobs and contributes about 30 percent to the GDP. 'Namaste Bharat Exhibition' is a 10-days-long global exhibition which will be held from October 29 to November 7. 

"Presently, MSME is the most important sector for the country. I say it is the backbone of Indian economy. It contributes 30 per cent to GDP. As far as export is concerned, it is 48 per cent. Up till now, 11 crore jobs have been created by the MSME sector," said Nitin Gadkari. 

"We are giving the highest priority for how we can reduce our import and increase our exports. The global economy is an open platform where the quality, cost and scale of marketing of products are very important factors," he further added. 

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"Eradication of poverty is our mission"

During the inauguration of 'Namaste Bharat Exhibition', Minister for  Road Transport, Highways, Shipping and MSME Nitin Gadkari spoke about the government's mission to eradicate poverty. He said that the aim is to create employment and aid village and small industries to grow. Gadkari also said that the government is taking a step towards recognising and facilitating women entrepreneurs. 

"The government wants to create more employment in the backward and tribal areas," said Gadkari 

He further added, "We want to recognise, respect, support and facilitate women entrepreneurs and at the same time we want to incentivise them."

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Speaking about the Khadi Gram Udyog, Nitin Gadkari said that the government is focusing on village industries and socially, economically and educationally backward areas. "We want to focus on these areas where we need more concentration for gaining and creating employment potential and growth. And that is exactly the way of eradication of poverty, which is our mission. They need guidance, innovation and technology and that is where we need to help them," he said. 

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'Namaste Bharat Exhibition'

This 10-days long exhibition has been conceptualised and curated by a leading Singapore based events and marketing company, De Ideaz. 'Namaste Bharat Exhibition' is a  local to global exhibition aimed at promoting products 'made in India' on a global platform and is the first one of its kind. This exhibition will including over 300 local Indian exhibitions who will showcase over 1,00,000 products which are made in India. 'Namaste Bharat Exhibition' is in line with PM Modi's call for 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' and 'Vocal For Local' initiative. The virtual global exhibition is backed by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) and the High Commission of Singapore. 

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(With inputs from ANI & PTI)