The government aims to increase the MSME (Micro, small and medium enterprises) sector’s share in the GDP to 40 per cent to benefit the rural poor, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said. Currently, around 6.5 crore MSMEs contribute 30 per cent to GDP.
He called for lasting and transformative changes at the village level, through innovative, research-based technology specially adapted for rural areas. While addressing a workshop at the Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University at Wardha in Maharashtra, the minister pointed out that village industries and Khadi generate as much as Rs 88,000 crore on an annual basis.
Migration of as much as 30 per cent of the country’s population from rural areas has taken place since independence due to lack of growth in the village economy, the minister said.
