Hyderabad: IT minister D. Sridhar Babu said the state government was working to establish an entrepreneurship development centre (EDC) in collaboration with the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad. The minister made the announcement on Tuesday after a meeting with EDII director-general Dr Sunil Shukla and in-charge of Goa EDC Dr. Abdul Razak, who presented proposals for the EDC. The EDII has training centres in 17 states.
The upcoming EDC will train 50,000 youth over the next four years on establishing small, medium, and micro enterprises, said Sridhar Babu. He emphasised that the government was committed to providing financial assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
He also highlighted that, through the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an initiative of the Centre similar to e-commerce platforms, businesses would have the opportunity to market their products for free.
Later, addressing general managers of the district industries centres at Dr MCR HRD Institute, the minister directed them to actively implement PM Vishwakarma Yojana to benefit artisans from the Backward Classes. The scheme provides end-to-end support to artisans engaged in 18 different trades.
Sridhar Babu released a handbook on MSMEs launched by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy recently. The handbook contains information on eligibility conditions for various MSME schemes, subsidies and loans available under the scheme. The minister instructed the officials to ensure that women and Dalits get the targeted benefits from the new MSME policy of the state government.
