Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday urged the banks to provide more credit for a sustainable growth of the MSME sector.
"The coverage of credit to the entrepreneurs of the state is dismally poor. During the current financial year as on September 2014, only 6.7 percent of the credit has been covered under the credit guarantee scheme of government of India," said Patnaik at the MSME Trade Fair 2015 here.
Patnaik said: "I call upon the banks to proactively consider covering more and more of the first generation entrepreneurs under the said scheme in fulfilling their dreams of setting up units."
Stating that credit is a major focus area for a sustainable growth of the MSMEs, he said the micro enterprises of yesterday are the large corporates of today and could be MNCs of tomorrow.
He urged the banks to follow the guidelines of Reserve Bank with respect to rehabilitation of potentially viable sick units to create a win-win situation for both.
Giving details of employment by these sectors, Patnaik said as per latest census, there are about 1.5 million enterprises providing employment to 3.3 million people in the state while Odisha is one among the top ten states in terms of providing employment.
The growth rate of MSMEs in Odisha is 32 percent against the all India average of 28 percent. The growth rate of employment has been 29 percent against the all India average of 26 percent, said Patnaik.
He said the government is contemplating to bring out a procurement policy for MSMEs in the state.