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A four-day National Expo of Small, Agro and Rural Industries under the aegis of the Ministry of Small Scale Industries and Agro and Rural Industries was inaugurated here today by the Defence Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee. The Exposition at the lawn of Ashok Hotel is aimed at highlighting various export oriented innovative products from different States and Union Territories. About one hundred and forty Units from all States/UTs are participating in the Expo, focusing on export and innovation. It will remain open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on all four days and the entry to the Exposition is free. Seminars on various themes pertaining to SSI & ARI and Multi-Media presentations on schemes for assistance of small, agro and rural industries are the other attractions of the Exposition.
Inaugurating the Exposition, Defence Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee said that the Small, Agro and Rural Industries sector was a vast and vibrant sector of the economy and by providing an environment of conducive policies and focused packages of supportive measures, this sector can be enabled to accelerate widely depressed and sustainable development of all parts of the country.
Referring to the SMED Bill 2005, the Defence Minister said that the Group of Ministers entrusted to look into the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Industry would take adequate care to see that while facilitating the much-needed paradigm shift from the hitherto prevalent concept of “small scale industries” to the integrated and internationally accepted model of treating small and medium enterprises as an economic continuum, the concerns voiced by the vast majority of tiny or micro enterprises were adequately addressed. He said that the Government was also engaged in formulating a promotional package for the micro and small enterprises and hoped that it would be announced soon.
The Union Minister of Small Scale Industries and Agro & Rural Industries, Shri Mahabir Prasad, in his address said that it was for the first time that such an Exposition was being held on national level. At present, there are about 1 crore, 18 lakh small-scale industries in which about 3 crore people are employed. This sector contributes to about 39 per cent of the total industrial production and 30 per cent of the total export, he added. The Minister said that the small-scale sector was playing a crucial role in the economic development of the country.
Secretary, Ministry of SSI & ARI, Shri Anupam Dasgupta also spoke on this occasion.
MG: PM
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