25,000 MSMEs registered in State in current quarter: Minister

Minister launches help desks for providing support for aspiring entrepreneurs in all local bodies

In a year in which the State government has set a target to aid the launch of one lakh Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), close to 25,000 MSMEs have been newly registered in State in the current quarter, Industries Minister P.Rajeeve said here on Monday.

Inaugurating the MSME day celebrations, he said that this is the highest number of MSME registrations in a year, surpassing the 17,000 achieved in an entire year in 2021. Minister for Local Self Governments M.V.Govindan, who launched help desks for providing support for aspiring entrepreneurs in all local bodies, said that a change in mindset among local body officials will help in the growth of MSMEs.

"Currently, Kerala is in the 12th position in the number of MSMEs with 5.6% of such initiatives located here. By the next MSME day, we have to achieve even higher ranks. A total of 24,784 MSMEs have registered this quarter. Around 80,000 workshops have been organised across all local bodies till now for aspiring entrepreneurs. Online applications have been received for 7 private industrial parks, in addition to 14 applications at the district level. License will be provided to all of them within 30 days. Technology clinics will be organised in all districts," said Mr.Rajeeve.

Mr.Govindan said that the Kerala model has addressed most of the basic needs of the people. However joblessness has remained a big issue. The survey conducted as part of the ‘Ente Thozhil Ente Abhimanam’ (My job, my pride) initiative by Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K-DISC) and Kudumbashree has found that there are 53.42 lakh educated, jobless persons between the age of 18 and 59 in Kerala, out of which 58.3% are women, 3,578 are transgender persons and 41.5% are men.

"Several departments are coming together as part of a new model to generate jobs under the one lakh MSMEs initiative. Earlier, the approach of the local bodies was not very friendly towards entrepreneurs. However, that mindset has changed now. A total of 1,170 interns have been appointed across local bodies to support entrepreneurs. We plan to summon officials who cause undue delay in processing files. The interminable wait to get permissions is becoming a thing of the past. Now, local bodies are approaching entrepreneurs and offering support. Entrepreneurs are not our enemies. Kerala's economy can be strengthened only by ensuring all support to them," he said.