MSMEs ARE YOGI GOVERNMENT’S BIG WEAPONS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19

No one knew that masks, sanitizers and PPE kits would become some of the most precious things in the year 2020. After the lockdown was announced and the pandemic crisis deepened, all countries including India realized the need for PPE kits for doctors and paramedical staff engaged in the prevention and treatment of corona infections. Uttar Pradesh was no different. At the same time, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also realised that dependence on outside firms to meet the requirements like PPE kits for UP doctors and paramedical employees could be dangerous. Keeping this in mind, the Chief Minister asked his team-11 officers to immediately draw a plan to manufacture necessary equipment like PPE kits and ventilators in UP itself and this was when the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) department got into the scene of things. The minister and senior officials of the MSME department held a meeting with other officers and drew a plan. Next day the plan was presented before the Chief Minister and with his guidance, efforts to make UP self-sufficient in the manufacturing of PPE kits were started. The textile entrepreneurs were contacted in the state and were persuaded to manufacture PPE kits. The Chief Minister himself talked to entrepreneurs and assured them of government help.

IMPETUS TO MANUFACTURING

In the lockdown, arrangements were made to bring the workers to factories from their villages. Raw materials were arranged at the war level. The protocol for making standard PPE kits was explained to all entrepreneurs. It was on April 5 that half a dozen textile factories in Noida, Kanpur and Unnao started producing PPE kits. Today, a total of over 53 factories in UP have acquired the capacity of manufacturing 50,000 PPE kits daily. A large number of PPE kits made in the state are being used in medical colleges and other hospitals engaged in the treatment of Covid-19 in UP. Apart from this, HLL Lifecare, a central government organization, is also buying a large number of PPE kits from UP factories and supplying it to hospitals. The state government has also helped in getting operations restarted at the ventilator manufacturing unit in UP at Noida which is now producing over 300 ventilators daily and supplying it across the country. In the war against the pandemic, these MSME units are Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s extremely important and crucial weapons. According to the data from the 73rd round of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), the total number of 'OAE' (On Account Enterprises or enterprises running without hiring a single employee) in UP was 78,74,711. The number of 'Establishments', i.e. enterprises in which at least one person has been employed, is 11, 25,051. At the same time, there are 8, 92,029 MSMEs in UP that are registered under the Udyog Aadhar Memorandum (UAM) in the Union MSME Ministry. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an economic package of Rs 20 lakh crore for 'Self-reliant India Campaign' on May 12th, within 24 hours of that announcement, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath disbursed online loans worth Rs 2002.49 crore to 56,754 MSME units of UP. Thus, UP became the first state to disburse such a large number of loans to entrepreneurs during the lockdown period. The Chief Minister also organized an online 'Swarojgar Sangam' programme to provide employment to the people. The event provided employment opportunities to more than 2 lakh workers in 56,754 MSME units. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also instructed to create a total of 90 lakh jobs by arranging for the employment of at least one person in "OAE" and "Establishment" category enterprises. The 'Selfreliant India package' is being implemented rapidly in UP, under his leadership. For this, the campaign of arranging loans for MSME units from banks in the state is going on apace. Under this very 'Self-reliant India Package', Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June disbursed Rs 5,900 crore to 2.40 lakh existing units and Rs 3,226 crore to 1.11 lakh new MSME units. Each of these new units will give employment to at least four people: thus, more than four lakh people will get employment in these new units.