Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a letter to small business persons across the country, hailed the impact that they have had on India's economy, terming them the backbone of the nation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a letter to small business persons across the country, hailed the impact that they have had on India's economy, terming them the backbone of the nation.
"Vegetable sellers, milkmen, grocers, washermen, newspaperwallahs, weavers, artisans, flower-sellers and so on - you all are the backbone of our nation. The strength you give to the economy is one of its most overlooked secrets. While many think that large companies dominate, in reality, it is over five and a half crore small units like yours, which drive our economy through small manufacturing, trading and service businesses. Furthermore, you provide employment to 11-12 crore people, the majority of whom are SCs, STs, OBCs and minorities. India thus depends on you for its growth, jobs and prosperity," the Prime Minister wrote, in the letter dated March 31.
The letter as it appears on the PM Narendra Modi's website
"If your hands are strengthened, I am confident you will take the nation to even greater heights. You should be able to run your business easily - not be harassed by officials, get loans for your day-to-day activities, material for your operations and markets for your products. You should be protected from any financial crisis and feel secure about your future. If this is done, you will be strong enough to lift the nation up," he added.
The Prime Minister further said that the recently launched MUDRA bank will ensure that the small business owner will receive loans at affordable rates, also assuring that power cuts would not affect them anymore. "We are setting up the MUDRA (Micro Units Development Refinance Agency) Bank to ensure that you get loans at an affordable rate, with minimal paperwork. It will run a Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, which will give priority to SC/ST enterprises. Moreover, all of you will have gotten bank accounts through the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Nano. You will now also be able to get loans up to Rs 5,000 from these accounts for your business needs," he wrote.
"Irregular and costly power hits you the worst in running your business. We are helping state governments separate rural agricultural supply through the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram brad Yojana, to ensure you get 24x7 power," he added.
Prime Minister Modi also spoke of various schemes that would help the family of the small businessman. "As your children grow up, their thoughts and aspirations are very different from yours. They want to take more risks, be more innovative... For them, we are setting up the SETU (Self-Employment and Talent Utilisation) mechanism to support all aspects of a start-up business, from credit to incubation. AIM (Atal Innovation Mission) has also been established, to promote a network of world-class innovation hubs for those wanting to get into cutting-edge research and development," he wrote.
"India's family structure is such that people worry more about their family than themselves. We have thus set up mechanisms to assist those of you who wish to secure your family's well-being, in case anything happens to you. The Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana provides you an accident insurance of Rs two lakhs at a mere Re one per month premium," he added.
The Prime Minister's letter also touched upon pension and retirement. "Having always heard about government servants getting pension after retirement, we would have often worried about our own old age. For this we have come up with the Aral Pension Yojana, which will give you a pension of Rs 5,000 per month after you are 60, by saving just Rs 250 per month from a young age. In addition, your children will inherit up to Rs 8.5 lakhs when you are no more," it read.
In his Budget Speech for the financial year 2015-16, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had proposed the creation of the MUDRA bank, with a corpus of Rs. 20,000 crore and credit guarantee corpus of Rs. 3,000 crore.
MUDRA, which the Prime Minister launched on Tuesday, will be responsible for developing and refinancing through a Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana, all Micro-finance Institutions (MFIs) which are in the business of lending to micro / small business entities engaged in manufacturing, trading and service activities.
MUDRA would also partner with state/regional level coordinators to provide finance to last mile financiers of small/micro business enterprises.
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