Department of Finance Services, Government of India launched the MSMEs Support & Outreach program on 2nd November, 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Events under this program were held at over 100 MSME hubs in the country. “The program will last 100 days in the 100 aspirational districts” said Finance Ministry spokesperson D.S. Malik. The districts under the program are backward in terms of health, education & infrastructure and the project is a step towards their growth. Some of the benefits that MSMEs receive under this program are easier credit availability in 100 “aspirational” districts, improved cash flows, better access to market, social security benefits for employees, interest subsidy, simpler regulatory alliance & ease of doing business. “Several Union Ministers will participate in the mega programme and visit the aspirational districts to understand their challenges and oversee the support given to MSMEs,” added D.S. Malik. Amongst the attendees were Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley and Minister of State for MSME, Giriraj Singh. The MSME sector constitutes a vast network of over 63 million units and employs 111 million people, contributing around 30% to the GDP. It accounts for about 45% of manufacturing output and around 40% to total exports.
