Rajasthan’s first Handicrafts Policy was also launched to boost employment opportunities for craftsmen and artisans. Rajasthan’s Industries and Commerce Minister Shakuntala Rawat launched the state’s MSME Policy 2022 to provide financial and technical assistance with a conducive regulatory environment in order to enhance the contribution of MSMEs to the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GSDP) as well as exports. The policy envisaged the setting up of 20,000 new MSME units with a cumulative investment of Rs 10,000 crores and employment generation for 1 lakh people, said a statement by the state’s Department of Information and Public Relations. The policy also proposed to facilitate 9,000 MSMEs to obtain Zero Defect Zero Effect (ZED) certification. Launched in October 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ZED certification aims to help reduce wastage in the manufacturing process substantially, increase the productivity of MSMEs, enhance their environmental consciousness, save energy, expand their markets, etc., in order to boost MSMEs’ competitiveness.
The minister, speaking at the Udyog Ratna and Export Promotion Awards in Jaipur, also launched the state’s first Handicrafts Policy to boost employment opportunities for craftsmen and artisans. Rawat said the policy will benefit artisans involved in textile, metal, wood, carpet, ceramic and clay, painting, leather craft, jewellery etc., and more than 50,000 new employment opportunities will be available in the coming five years. She added the policy aims at providing better marketing arrangements for the upliftment of handicrafts, reviving traditional and extinct arts, and creating new job opportunities.
Industries and Commerce Department’s additional chief secretary Vinu Gupta said MSMEs are critical for last mile industrial development and employment generation in the state. The secretary said investment agreements worth Rs 11 lakh crore have been signed so far for the upcoming Invest Rajasthan summit scheduled on October 7 and October 8. Invest Rajasthan is the state’s investor outreach programme comprising domestic, national and international investor meets, embassy connect programs and virtual seminars to attract investments across sectors. According to the MSME Ministry’s 2021-22 annual report, Rajasthan had the ninth highest population of MSMEs with 26.87 lakh enterprises, contributing 4 per cent to India’s overall MSME base of 6.33 crore. In terms of employment, Rajasthan MSMEs employ 46.33 lakh people.
