Target of 5 crore jobs in 5 years from MSME: Nitin Gadkari

Mumbai: "A distinction is often made between India and Bharat. There are many problems in villages due to which people migrate from villages to cities in search of jobs. We need to stop this phenomenon; we want that people do not have to come to cities due to lack of jobs. This would happen when we are able to provide good roads, schools, hospitals, farm revenue and economic viability for occupations in rural areas" this is how Nitin Gadkari spread out his vision for MSME sector for the next 5 years. He was speaking at a business summit "Globalizing the Brand Khadi: The Pride of India", organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in Mumbai on Tuesday.

5 Crore jobs in 5 Years

The minister said that the Government has taken up a mission-mode project of creating 5 crore jobs in 5 years in the MSME sector. "The Government has decided to take the proportion of MSME exports to 50% and to increase the GDP contribution of the MSME sector from 29% to 50% in the next 5 years" he added.

The Minister said we need to strengthen the Khadi sector, the turnover of Khadi and village sector needs to be further increased; a large segment of the population is dependent on this. He informed that his Ministry is in talks with the Ministry of Railways to serve tea in kulhads made of terracotta. "Currently, this is available in two stations; I have written to the Railway Minister and to the Transport Ministers of all states to make this kulhads mandatory in all bus stations and railway stations," He said.

Make Khadi a global brand

Gadkari further said that Khadi is the soul of Gandhiji's thinking. Without compromising with its principles, we need to modernize Khadi – in product design, fashion design, weaving and other processes. New research needs to be incorporated and adopted. In particular, we need to look at how we can make better quality and low-cost yarn than what is made in the mills. There is a need for a professional approach in fashion design, so as to improve the quality of Khadi products.

The Minister called upon enterprising people in the private sector to come forward to promote Khadi. "This is not difficult from the point of view of technology and quality," he said; "if we receive good inputs from industry, the brand Khadi can be made world-famous. Consumer choices have changed; this summit aims to garner industry cooperation in increasing the brand value and market value of Khadi."