Chief Minister inaugurates The Entrepreneurs Week
The State of Odisha celebrates the 11th edition of Entrepreneurs Week from 5th March to 11th March 2015 to coincide with the birth Anniversary of Biju Patnaik the doyen of entrepreneurship. Perhaps no other leader occupied the imagination of the people of Odisha like Biju Patnaik. He was Odisha’s restless son and became a legendary hero. His ability to create confidence among people and inspire them was phenomenal. He had a remarkable capacity to transmit his cheerful strength to others. Biju Patnaik is considered as a pioneer of the industrial growth of Odisha and established a string of industries in mission.
Entrepreneurship is increasingly recognised as an important driver of economic growth, productivity, innovation and employment and it is widely accepted as a key aspect of economic dynamism. The role of entrepreneurship is not confined only to creation of enterprises, but also includes creation of the capacity to produce wealth, jobs and income which are the most direct indicators of economic development. In fact, underdevelopment is not because of the lack of resources but because of the absence or inadequate supply of entrepreneurs. The developed nations have a good pace of entrepreneurial supply while the developing nations suffer from shortage of entrepreneurs. This is one of the reasons for the poverty in developing countries, despite their rich natural resources. Keeping this in view, the MSME Department has ventured into conducting series of programmes as grass root level to promote and encourage innovation and entrepreneurship among the youth of Odisha.
The Entrepreneurs’ Week was inaugurated by Shri Naveen Patnaik, Hon’ble Chief Minister in Hotel Swosti Premium, Bhubaneswar. SriJogendraBehera, Hon’ble Minister, MSME & PGPA, Sri Debi Prasad Mishra, Hon’ble Minister Industries and School & Mass Education, Sri BijayMohanty and Sri Priyadarshi Mishra MLAs are to grace the occasion as Guests of Honour. The proponent Industry Associations of the State viz. UCCI, OSSIA, OIF, OYEA, OIA, OASME, BCCI, NOCCi, RCCI are to attend the inauguration of the celebration. A large gathering consisting of Entrepreneurs, Technocrats, Financial Institutions and all those engaged in promotion and development of MSME also attended in inaugural function.
The contribution of MSMEs to economic growth is recognised worldwide. The contribution of MSME sector to employment generation, export, reducing regional disparity is phenomenal. As per 4th Census of MSME, in the State of Odisha 1.57 million MSMEs providing employment to nearly 3.32 million people making it the largest source of employment after the agriculture sector. Moreover, many from the vulnerable and marginalized sectors of society, as well as a large number of women workers are engaged in it. This imparts to this sector an important role in the national endeavour for inclusive growth.
Various state level programmes are planned to be organized during the entire week which includes seminars/ workshops on different issues relating to Tourism, Food Processing sector, Export, Cluster Development, Safety measures, Quality, Credit, Infrastructure, Promotion of ancillary & downstream industries and all other aspects concerning the promotion and development of Micro Small and Midium Enterprises.
Seminars/ Workshops relating to promotion and development of MSME would also be conducted in all 30 districts in association with all stakeholders.
The past few years have witnessed an increased awareness of the issues concerning the MSMEs and their ecosystem. Problems related to finance, HR, IT, Marketing, R&D etc. are well known now but yet the solutions have been elusive, Policy framework and regulatory environment is better now but awareness and efficacy on the ground still needs a major boost. To address all those issues there will also be an Open House Discussion on 11.03.2015 at 10.30 a.m. in Hotel Mayfair (Convention), Central Hall, Bhubaneswar under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary, Odisha.