Union minister for MSME Kalraj Mishra has said that Khadi production is expected to reach Rs.1300 crore during this fiscal, generating employment for over 19.50 lakh people. A sum of Rs.341 crore has been earmarked for Khadi & Village Industries Commission for this purpose, an MSME ministry release said.
He said that 2016-17 will be the development year for MSME with the more allocation and increased job creation. He said ministry has prepared a time-bound action plan for utilising the allocation of Rs.3,000 crore to his ministry and the implementation of major schemes which include PMEGP, SFRUTI, ASPIRE, etc.
At a briefing on the roadmap and budget allocation of MSME ministry, Mishra said under PMEGP a sum of Rs.1,139 crore will be utilized during 2016-17 to assist 55,000 projects with Margin Money. This will generate employment for more than 4, 25,000 people.
He said to promote the interest of rural artisans, the government has decided to take up development of 39 clusters with an approximate cost of Rs.60 crore benefiting more than 10,000 artisans.
Mishra said the government is very keen to strengthen economic activities in rural pockets and with this purpose a sum of Rs.100 crore has been earmarked under the Scheme for Promotion of Innovation in Rural Industries and Entrepreneurship. He also said that for both SFURTI and ASPIRE, a web based application and monitoring system will be designed and implemented. Village Industries production is expected to cross Rs.45,000 crore during 2016-17, creating employment for more than 163 lakh people.
He said that a sum of Rs. 43.56 crore has been allotted to take the Coir products to the lavel of 5.5 lakh metric tonnes and create employment for more than 7.25 lakh people and exports of more than Rs.1,500 crore.
