India’s Rajasthan State recently launched its Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Policy 2022 to offer financial and technical assistance with a conducive regulatory environment to enhance the contribution of MSMEs to the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) and exports. The state’s first Handicrafts Policy for craftsmen and artisans was also launched.
State industries and Commerce Minister Shakuntala Rawat unveiled the policies at the Udyog Ratna and Export Promotion Awards in state capital Jaipur.
A statement from the State’s department of information and public relations said the policy aims at setting up 20,000 new MSME units with a cumulative investment of Rs. 10,000 cr and generating jobs for a lakh. It also proposes to facilitate 9,000 MSMEs to obtain ‘zero defect zero effect’ (ZED) certification.
The ZED certification was launched in October 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and aims at substantially reducing wastage in the manufacturing process, raising productivity of MSMEs, enhancing their environmental consciousness, saving energy and expanding their markets to boost their competitiveness.
The Handicrafts Policy will benefit artisans involved in textile, metal, wood, carpet, ceramic and clay, painting, leather craft, jewellery, etc., and more than 50,000 new employment opportunities will be available in the next five years, Rawat was quoted as saying.
