Newly-appointed Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Minister Nitin Gadkari said he would work with full strength to increase job opportunities in the sector, reported PTI.

Speaking on his new responsibility of the MSME Ministry, Gadkari said:

This portfolio is associated with the most important issue - the country's growth rate and employment potential. And it is the PM's expectation that employment should increase from this sector, which is very low now, and there should be creation of employment".

The minister was speaking to reporters about the MSME Ministry at his residence in Nagpur. MSMEs are the backbone of the Indian economy and account for more than 45 percent of the total manufacturing output of the country.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Gadkari won the Nagpur seat by defeating Congress candidate and BJP rebel Nana Patole by a margin of more than two lakh votes. In 2014, he had contested for General Elections for the first time and won from Nagpur constituency.

Gadkari was also appointed as BJP President in 2009 in a tough phase when the party had lost two consecutive general elections. He resigned as party President in 2013.

Besides the MSME Ministry, Gadkari has now retained charge of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. He said that he has set a new target of laying 40 kms of road everyday over the next one-and-a-half years.

The minister also said that he has decided to create roadside amenities across the country. "I got an opportunity to work on road transport, and this time, I have decided to plant 125 crore trees, as much as the country's population, along the roads in the next five years.

"I am thinking to work on creating roadside amenities in a big way and 2,000 such amenities would be set up. Work has started on the Mumbai-Delhi Expressway and 12 other expressway projects will be completed in the next three months," he said.

Published On : 03-06-2019

Source : SMB Story