New Delhi, Aug 31: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh on Thursday said that E-commerce platforms can be important enablers for StartUps and MSMEs.
Delivering a keynote address at the 4th “Amazon SMBhav Summit” on the theme ‘Nurturing Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Paving the Path for Small Business Success’ here, Dr Jitendra said the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are crucial to India’s economy as this sector comprises ancillary units, thereby contributing enormously to the overall industrial development of the country. These enterprises are engaged in the production, manufacturing and processing of goods and commodities, he said.
All this is eventually going to take us a step forward in the direction of Ease of Doing Business, particularly for the MSMEs, which are the greatest stakeholders and the potential beneficiaries, he said, adding that the MSMEs constitute the backbone of India’s economy, contributing around 30% of India’s GDP, and creating employment opportunities for 11 crore Indians.
The minister said, “As India emerges as one of the fastest growing innovation-led economies under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the collaboration with the E-Commerce platforms has an important role to play as a bridge between the private and the public sector, the government and the industry, and most importantly between the capacity resources and the MSMEs.”
You are, in a big way, supporting the MSMEs, but you could also look forward to creating MSMEs, young MSMEs with young entrepreneurs, he said, adding that MSMEs hold the key to making India a $5 trillion economy and enhancing the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ vision.
Dr Singh said the youth today is “in the best of times” with PM Modi’s strong pitch on innovation and entrepreneurship poised to take India into the comity of Developed Economies.
“Today we are the fifth largest economy in the world and we have jumped 40 places in the Global Innovation Index rankings to reach the 40th position. We have witnessed remarkable strides in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, and other emerging areas of technology. India is already on the ascent and Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship are going to be the key determinants of the roadmap during the Amritkaal, the next 25 years when we celebrate 100 years of India’s Independence,” he said.
Dr Jitendra said the government has created the right ecosystem for Startups and MSMEs to flourish in diverse sectors ranging from AgriTech and Biotechnology to Oceanography and Space. “We have huge bioresources in India, – In the Himalayas, herbs, Aroma Mission is creating new opportunities while the Deep Ocean Mission has been launched to tap India’s huge sea bed wealth along the more than 7,500 km coastline,” he said.
He thanked PM Modi for opening up erstwhile “forbidden” sectors to the private sector and the common man. “As witnessed during the unprecedented interest of each and every citizen of India in the recent Chandrayaan Moon Landing, the entire nation now owns up to each and every Space mission,” Dr Jitendra said.
