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Rahul Gandhi seeks ideas for MSME revival
The suggestions, together with the Congress’s own, will be sent to the central government, which is soon expected to announce a stimulus programme to counter the impact of the pandemic on the economy .
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday sought public suggestions for an economic stimulus package to revive micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that have borne the brunt of the 40-day lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
The suggestions, together with the Congress’s own, will be sent to the central government, which is soon expected to announce a stimulus programme to counter the impact of the pandemic on the economy . The Congress is crowd-sourcing the public suggestions on social media.
“Covid-19 has devastated our micro, small and medium businesses. The Congress party needs your help. Send us suggestions and ideas for what an MSME economic stimulus package should cover on voiceofmsme.in or on our social media platforms,” he tweeted, using the hashtag “HelpSaveSmallBusinesses”.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday formed a consultative committee under the chairmanship of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss issues related to the viral outbreak, and formulate the Congress’s stand . At its first meeting on Monday, the 11-member group discussed the revival of the MSME sector,procurement and farm produce and the plight of migrant workers stranded by the lockdown.
Former union minister Jairam Ramesh, a member of the group, said the panel will prepare a detailed plan for revival of MSMEs, smooth procurement of wheat, mustard and gram and measures to resolve stranded migrants’ problems,and submit the blueprint to the Centre.
“We have worked out a very concrete MSME revival package which we will submit to the central government in a day or two,” Ramesh said, adding both Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi had insisted that absolute priority be given to the MSME sector, the second largest employer in India after agriculture.
