President Kovind hails Modi govt’s ‘easy loans’ for small businesses
Under the Atmanirbhar Bharat mission, “steps have been taken for economic growth as well as employment generation by promoting micro, small and medium enterprises and making the startup ecosystem more robust,” the President said in his customary address to the nation on the eve of the 72nd Republic Day.
India’s vast MSME ecosystem found a special mention in President Ram Nath Kovind’s speech on Monday evening ahead of the 72nd Republic Day. Hailing the government’s efforts to promote emerging enterprises, the President said that the government had encouraged small and medium industries to unleash entrepreneurial spirit by providing easy loans to them and developing innovative business ideas. Under the Atmanirbhar Bharat mission, “steps have been taken for economic growth as well as employment generation by promoting micro, small and medium enterprises and making the startup ecosystem more robust,” the President said in his customary address to the nation on the eve of the annual mega-event that commemorates the date on which the Constitution of India came into effect in the year 1950.
India’s vibrant democracy, enterprising and talented fellow citizens – especially the youth – energize efforts in shaping a self-reliant India. The demand for goods and services in the country, the domestic efforts to meet them, and modern technology in such actions are strengthening Atma-Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, President added.
Government initiatives including the emergency credit scheme, subordinate debt scheme, revised definition of MSME, Fund of Funds, and more were launched to help Covid hit MSMEs recover gradually. In June last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured MSMEs of revised definition and that it would enable them to “grow without any worries,” he had tweeted. PM Modi had announced a seed fund worth Rs 1,000 crore for startups to set-up and grow their businesses and had also launched a dedicated television show — Startup Champions. “This will help to start and grow new startups. Through the Fund of Funds, startups are already receiving assistance to raise equity capital. Going forward, the government will also help startups to raise debt capital by providing the guarantee,” Modi had said. The government already has a Rs 10,000 Fund of Funds for Startups operated by SIDBI.
Last week, the Commerce Ministry had nominated the names of its non-official members for its National Startup Advisory Council to promote the startup ecosystem in the country. Byju’s Byju Raveendran, Abhiraj Bhal from Urban Company, Snapdeal’s Kunal Bahl, Ola’s Bhavish Aggarwal, Sanjeev Bikhchandani from Info Edge India, SoftBank India’s Manoj Kohli, Sequoia Capital India’s Rajan Anandan, Nasscom President Debjani Ghosh, CII President Uday Kotak, and other representatives from multiple startups and investment firms, IIT Kanpur, IIM Ahmedabad, iSPIRT and more were nominated.
