Odisha Govt Focus On MSME, Industry For Livelihood Amid COVID-19 Pandemic: Minister

Bhubaneswar: The state government has laid more emphasis on the MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) and industry sectors to ensure the livelihood of the people amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said Industries and MSME minister Dibya Shankar Mishra.

“While waging a relentless fight to defeat the coronavirus to save the lives of the people, the government has given top priority to the MSME sector to boost the economy, especially in the rural areas. There are a series of high-level meetings on this matter and it has been decided to pump in as much assistance to the MSME units as possible,” Mishra said while speaking to the media here.

Apart from the MSME and industry, the government has decided to incentivise the traditional professions like agriculture under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), he added.

Stating that the high skilled Odia workers, who had returned to Odisha from other states due to COVID-19 outbreak, are now returning to their workplaces, he said for the remaining workers, who are not willing to return, efforts are on to engage them in the MSME.