Shri Narayan Rane launches Special Entrepreneurship Promotion Drive for Women – “SAMARTH” on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2022

On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2022, Union Minister for MSME, Shri Narayan Rane along with Minister of State for MSME, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma launched a Special Entrepreneurship Promotion Drive for Women -“SAMARTH“ at New Delhi in the presence of Secretary (MSME), AS&DC (MSME), Chairman (KVIC), Senior Officials of the Ministry and women entrepreneurs.

Congratulating women at the Event, Shri Narayan Rane said that the MSME sector offers a plethora of opportunities for women and the Ministry of MSME, through its schemes and initiatives, is continuously making efforts to develop entrepreneurship culture among women by offering several additional benefits for women in the schemes implemented by the Ministry.  Shri Narayan Rane announced a Special Entrepreneurship Promotion Drive for Women -“SAMARTH” being implemented by the Ministry to provide them with an opportunity to be self-reliant and independent by undertaking self-employment opportunities.

Shri Bhanu Pratap said that the Ministry of MSME envisions greater participation of women in the MSME sector and therefore will work hard to promote entrepreneurship. Women today are creating exceptional and ground-breaking accomplishments in every sphere of life and are optimistic about what the future holds for them. With the increased supportive initiatives by the government, we together can usher in a new era in India`s future.

Under the Samarth initiative of the Ministry, the following benefits will be available to aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs:

• 20% Seats in free Skill Development Programs organized under skill development schemes of the Ministry will be allocated for Women. More than 7500 women will be benefitted.
•  20% of MSME Business Delegations sent to domestic & international exhibitions under the schemes for Marketing Assistance implemented by Ministry will be dedicated to women owned MSMEs.
•  20% Discount on annual processing fee on NSIC’s Commercial Schemes
• Special Drive for registration of women-owned MSMEs under Udyam Registration

Through this initiative, the Ministry of MSME is focusing on providing Skill Development and  Market Development Assistance to women and more than 7500 women candidates from rural and sub-urban areas will be trained in the FY 2022-23.  Besides, thousands of women will be getting marketing opportunities to showcase their products in domestic and international exhibitions.

Also, to enhance the participation of women entrepreneurs in Public Procurement, a special discount of 20% shall also be offered on the annual processing fee on NSIC’s following commercial schemes during the year 2022-23:

• Single Point Registration Scheme

· Raw Material Assistance and Bill Discounting

· Tender Marketing

· B2B Portal msmemart.com

To celebrate International Women’s Day, the Ministry of MSME organised an international conference – “Empowering Women Entrepreneurs” in association with National Small Industries Corporation and India SME Forum. The Conference has been organized to provide a platform to existing and aspiring Indian Women Entrepreneurs to gain from the experiences and entrepreneurial journey of the most successful women entrepreneurs from different parts of the world as well as to discuss the best practices and innovation in entrepreneurship with international experts. A comprehensive presentation on the various schemes being implemented by the Ministry was also made by the senior officials from the Ministry.