Maharashtra government to extend red carpet to MSME & Startup projects

“Fintech has revolutionized financial services sector and it has the potential to support MSMEs and startup sectors. Government of Maharashtra will provide red carpet to MSME and startup projects, on par with the treatment given to ultra mega projects as micro, small and medium enterprises are the pillars of our economy. These small scale units are also the vendors of large industries. Our government will fulfill the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister to transform Mumbai into the global fintech hub. If India aims to be the USD 5 trillion economy in the next few years, Maharashtra will contribute significantly to this target with the goal of USD 1 trillion economy vision,” said Mr. Uday Samant, Hon’ble Minister of Industries, Government of Maharashtra at the Global Economic Summit on Fintech: Accelerating the Digital Revolution at WTC Mumbai. The Summit is jointly organized by All India Association of Industries (AIAI) and World Trade Center Mumbai (WTC).

The Hon’ble Minister expressed the government’s intention to revive sick industries, especially the MSME units in Maharashtra and he sought the support of WTC Mumbai and AIAI in in this initiative. “MSMEs can play an important role in the USD 1 trillion vision for the economy of Maharashtra. Our government wants to survey the number of operational MSME units in Maharashtra and the number of units that closed operation. We want to revive sick MSME units in the state and we seek the support of industry associations like AIAI and WTC Mumbai in this initiative.”

Earlier in his welcome remarks, Dr. Vijay Kalantri, President, All India Association of Industries (AIAI) and Chairman, MVIRDC World Trade Center Mumbai suggested the state government to revive SICOM and Maharashtra State Finance Corporation to boost MSME funding in the state.

Speaking about the importance of this Summit, Dr. Kalantri further remarked, “This Summit is organised to empower MSMEs with access to finance and digitization of their books of accounts through fintech solutions. Fintech supports MSMEs and startups in capacity building and employment generation. MSME Cutting edge technologies and applications such as blockchain, UPI, Digilocker and digital currencies can transform MSME business and make them globally competitive. Today, MSMEs suffer from credit shortage to the extent of Rs. 20 lakh crore in India and fintech solutions can bridge this credit gap.”

During the event, the Hon’ble Minister released the Handbook on Fintech, which carries actionable insights and policy suggestions on Account Aggregator framework, digital currency, global collaboration in data security, harmonisation of regulatory standards, cross-border payments, RegTech, Anti-money laundering measures and so on.

The 3-day Summit, which is supported by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MEITY) and Ministry of MSMEs, Government of India, will lay a roadmap for positioning Mumbai as the regional fintech hub of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Maharashtra is the host state partner for the Summit and it is also supported by Maharashtra State Innovation Society, MIDC, MSSIDC and MAITRI. Government of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have also supported this event.

The Summit will feature seven panel sessions with Indian and international experts from Philippines, Japan, Luxembourg, Geneva, USA and other countries. It will also host more than 100 exhibitors, 300 + delegates and 4,000 + visitors.

Photo caption: Dr. Vijay Kalantri, President – All India Association of Industries (AIAI) and Chairman, World Trade Center Mumbai (right), felicitating Mr. Uday Samant, Hon’ble Minister of Industries, Government of Maharashtra, (second from right). Also seen in the photograph is Captain Somesh Batra, Vice Chairman- World Trade Center Mumbai

Mr. Uday Samant, Hon’ble Minister of Industries, Government of Maharashtra (3rd from right) inaugurating the 9th Global Economic Summit on FINTECH: Accelerating the Digital Revolution at WTC Mumbai. Also seen in the front row are: Ms. Aakruti Bagwe, Director – Operations, WTC Mumbai, Dr. Vijay Kalantri, President – All India Association of Industries (AIAI) and Chairman, WTC Mumbai, Mr. Ashish Shah, Director – Country Division, ITC Geneva, Capt. Somesh Batra, Vice Chairman, WTC Mumbai.