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KOHIMA — Several initiatives will be implemented in Nagaland starting next month, September, targeting employment generation for 10,000 people, announced Pradeep Mishra Sarkar, National Chairman of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Council of India (MSME PCI), on Monday.
Speaking during the orientation and introduction programme on MSMEs at De-Oriental Grand, Kohima, Sarkar said that initiatives, including Retail Trading Guarantee Scheme (RTGS) and Kisan Trading Guarantee Scheme (KTGS) will be launched by mid-September, with an aim to provide financial assistance to disadvantaged traders and farmers who struggle to double their income.
The schemes have already been sanctioned and MSME PCI is authorised to give loans and necessary trainings to people, he said, adding that it will directly provide Minimum Support Price (MSP) rate to the products in order to promote local farmers.
The Retail Trading Guarantee Schemes (RTGS) was initiated to further develop the business of the local traders and increase their income.
Sarkar assured that the MSME PCI would work towards creating employment to 10,000 people from the state.
Jakhalu on industrial development in state
Advisor of Industries and Commerce Hekani Jakhalu said that industrial development is still in early stage in the state but has shown promising growth.
The sectoral growth rate of secondary sector has increased from 2.83% in 2012-13 to 12.8% in 2022-23. However, it also experienced fluctuations in growth rates including negative growth in some financial years. The variation is largely caused by weak industry based and unpredictable impact of climatic conditions, she said.
Despite these setbacks, the contribution of the secondary sector to the state's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) remains modest but promising, she added.
To support MSME entrepreneurs, groundwork including five common facility centres (two ongoing and three approved), five flatted factory complexes, one industrial estate, three modern aggregation centres, one integrated warehouse and distribution centre, and one unity mall project, has been laid, Jakhalu informed.
No dearth of talent in state
Sabou Yashü, director Information Technology and Communication, said Nagaland is still lagging behind in terms of IT manufacture and infrastructure, but at par with the rest of the world as far as services and software is concerned.
Most of the software running in government sector are designed by the citizens of the state. Earlier, the state used to wait for people from outside to come and fix bugs, but now, most of the software are fixed by own people, he said, adding that the state data centre, which is the most critical infrastructure, is run by locals since 2015 and has been providing software services to government departments.
There is a large pool of resources and talent among the youth readily available to be utilised, and MSME is a right platform to provide schemes to support IT entrepreneurship, he added.
Abhishek Mishra, Additional Director, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), briefly highlighted the scenario of STPI in the country as well as the initiatives taken up in Kohima, while urging IT entrepreneurs to come forward and avail those facilities.
Makunga, National deputy vice chairman MSME PCI incharge of Manipur and Nagaland, said that the programme was to figure out a roadmap and future of the MSMEs and discuss how banks can facilitate loans and schemes.
The MSME PCI, Nagaland, led by its chairman Lanuakam Jamir and respective districts MSMEs and bankers held interactive session with the national MSME PCI representatives during the event.