JAMMU: In a unique initiative to tackle the ever prevalent problem of finance facilitation for small and medium industry, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organised a session on Online SME Finance Facilitation Centre. Farooq Ahmad Andrabi, Minister of State for Industries and Commerce launched the CII SME Finance Facilitation Centre in front of the gathering of industrialists and partner banks and non-banking finance institutions.
“It is a great moment for me to be among you for such an initiative for the betterment of our industry in our State. I strongly believe that industrial development is important to solve several problems and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a big part in the economy and job creation. I am thankful to CII for this initiative and welcome CII to become our partner for growth and development in our State. The youth of our State needs a pool of opportunities and CII can play a vital part in doing so. I would welcome CII to join hands with government in development and nurturing entrepreneurs of our State,” said Andrabi while addressing the audience. “While our State has all the required components for industrial growth and excellent air and road connectivity in comparison to other hill states of country, our industrialists lack the much needed exposure in skills development, capacity building, manufacturing practices, financing services etc. I would like to congratulate CII for this unique initiative and look forward to more such developmental positive initiatives for strengthening our industry. I would like to promise our industrialists from this platform that Government of J and K is dedicated for the development and positive growth,” he added.
Rajesh Sharma, Managing Director, SRA Food and Beverages shared “MSME is the most vibrant sector that is the largest producers of jobs in the country. It directly effects the economy and exports. While the Government has taken several measures to promote the SME sector, however access to credit remains a major issue which needs urgent attention.”
Chairman, CII J and K State Council, Sheikh Imran, Vice Chairman, Rahul Sahai, Director, Business School, Prof B C Sharma, Plant Head, Grauer and Weil India Ltd, Jaspal Singh, DGM, J&K Bank, Vinay Sawhney, Chief Manager, State Bank of India, Rakesh Bhan, Deputy Regional Head, Union Bank of India, D.K Gupta and Regional Sales Manager, CRISIL Ratings Amrit Pal Singh also attended the programme and interacted with the present industrialists.