Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Nitin Gadkari inaugurated a two-day Workshop on implementation of traditional artisan clusters under Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi on Tuesday. Minister of State for MSME, Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi was also present on the occasion. Shri Gadkar inaugurated the workshop by lighting the lamp. The purpose of the workshop is to train the stakeholders to plan the implementation of the clusters in a time-bound manner so that the benefits of the Government interventions reach the beneficiaries early, enhancing their quality of production and increasing their income. Nearly 400 organisations associated with the SFURTI scheme in different capacities are expected to attend the two-day event, either physically or through video conferencing. Case studies of successful implementation of SFURTI clusters will also be discussed.Speaking on the occasion, Shri Gadkari set a target of 5,000 clusters under SFURTI, from present 394 approved clusters, and said that “the system should be digitalised and made time-bound, result-oriented, transparent and corruption- free”. He said that contribution of MSME sector to the GDP of the country should be increased to 40 per cent. He also mentioned that the MSME sector has provided around 11 crore jobs across the country.
The Minister also exhorted the MSME Ministry for adhering to a timeline of three months for scrutiny and approval / rejection of an application. He said the dilly-dallying tactics should be done away with. Shri Gadkari stressed on proper “cooperation, coordination and communication between the stakeholders”.Shri Gadkari emphasised that “every district should have a branch of Khadi Gramodyog and Village Industries and the turnover should reach five lakh crore from present 88,000 crore rupees”. He also said that “all schemes should be assessed in terms of how many jobs they have created and how many lives it has improved”. Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for MSME, Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi said that “in order to achieve the goal of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the country will have to adapt competitive speed”. He said that “there should be such clusters in every village and the willpower, technical upgradation of all concerned agencies can certainly make anything possible”. He said that “we should use sustainable technology and keeping the nation first, will benefit everyone”.As on date, 394 clusters have been approved under SFURTI, out of which 93 are functional clusters, assisting 2.34 lakh beneficiaries with the Government of India assistance to the tune of Rs.970.28 crore. The main sectors covered under the scheme include handicrafts, handloom, khadi, garments, coir, bamboo, agro processing, honey etc.