Entrepreneurship meet begins
ITANAGAR, Jan 30: Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday urged entrepreneurs to focus on the social sectors and take up projects for the uplift of sectors like health and education.
“While development on all fronts is a must, the social sectors should also be taken care of,” Khandu said in his address after inaugurating the first ever two-day Arunachal Pradesh Social Entrepreneurship Meet at the DK auditorium of the legislative assembly here.
“This is the best platform for our local entrepreneurs to get, share and innovate new ideas and shape up the future of Arunachal Pradesh,” the CM said. He lauded the initiative as “the first ever to be conceptualized and held by any state in the country.”
“This should kick-start the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to achieve a 5 trillion economy in coming years,” Khandu said, adding that the meet is a “platform to connect all startups across the country working in social sectors and work together with the state government to promote sustainable development.”
The chief minister said the state government will not tolerate or allow red-tape, and facilitate entrepreneurs in implementing projects and investing in the state.
“The state government is ready to go the extra mile in enabling a conducive atmosphere for entrepreneurships and investments,” he said, adding, however, that development should not be at the cost of the environment and nature.
“Arunachal Pradesh, due to its remoteness and unique cultural diversity, has its own challenges which require customized or local solutions. The investment in the state therefore requires innovativeness and an ability to understand the social fabric, which can be possible if there is an additional intent to create products or deliver services which benefit the society at large,” Khandu said.
He said agriculture, horticulture, tourism, and textiles & handicrafts sectors “need to be leveraged to pass the benefits of the sectors to the farmers, weavers, artisans, tour guides, etc.”
He urged the entrepreneurs to find solutions to the problems faced in the agriculture and allied sectors, “particularly demand aggregation and poor market linkages.”
The chief minister informed that, as a step in this direction, the state government is encouraging creation of farmers-producers organisations, livestock cooperatives, fisheries and sericulture cooperatives, etc, under the Chief Minister’s Krishi Samuh Yojana, and linking them with markets to ensure that the interests of the farmers are protected.
“Social entrepreneurs can play a huge role to supplement these efforts of the state government to double the income of our farmers by 2022,” he said.
Referring to the mega food park that is coming up in Banderdewa, Khandu advised budding entrepreneurs to explore investment in the agri-tech sector to boost the crop productivity in the state.
“We have placed a lot of emphasis on attracting investment in Arunachal Pradesh through creation of a conducive business environment for entrepreneurs and industries in the state. Our cabinet has recently approved the Arunachal Pradesh Industrial & Investment Policy, which aims at incentivizing entrepreneurs along with providing all necessary handholding for investing in the state,” he said.
He informed that 111 applications have been received from across the country for the ‘social innovation’ competition under two categories – ‘Enterprise’ for registered social enterprises, and ‘Ideation’ for aspiring entrepreneurs with tested ideas.
Enterprises representing different states in sectors like health, education, skill development, handicrafts & textiles, tourism & hospitality, agriculture, food processing, forestry, and renewable & clean energy are attending the meet. (CMO)
