Government is creating a platform for MSMEs and Khadi businesses, says MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jul 4, 2019

The government is working on creating and launching an online platform to market goods from micro, small, and medium enterprises and from Khadi manufacturers, the MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari said on July 3.

Gadkari addressed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday and said that, as part of the plan to increase the number and production capabilities of MSMEs and handloom textile manufacturers, the government will launch an e-commerce site for the sector, the Press Trust of India reported. Gadkari said that the platform will be similar to private-owned e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Alibaba. The minister had already spoken about his plan for an MSME e-commerce site and he confirmed in parliament that his team are in the process of working on it. 

"We have fixed the target to increase the share of MSME to 50 percent of GDP in the next five years," Gadkari told parliament, adding that the sector will add 15 crore jobs. "Like we have achieved all targets of the road ministry, we would achieve this also," said Gadkari, who is also minister for Road, Transport, and Highways.

The minister identified the current paint points of the MSME sector as cost of credit, product marketing, labour problems, management problems, and the cost of working capital. He said that, in order to meet the government’s production targets for the sector, these issued must be addressed. He also shared that the ministry is working with the ADB and the World Bank to resolve cost of credit issues.