Women should enhance skills to become 'atmanirbhar': Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said women should enhance their skills, equip themselves with technology to become 'atmanirbhar' and asked the BJP Mahila Morcha to reach out with MSME schemes.

During a video-conferencing session with workers of the party's women's wing in Nagpur, Gadkari emphasised on the need to create jobs and opportunities for sustainable living for women in villages and slums.

He urged the Mahila Morcha to conduct workshops for women where officials from MSMEs and Khadi Gram Udyog can guide them about entrepreneurial opportunities.

Women entrepreneurs have been given 3 per cent reservation in the Public Procurement Policy and they should take advantage of this by registering themselves with the MSME authorities, he said.

As many as 1,400 MSME women entrepreneurs got public undertaking orders worth Rs 231 crore in 2018-19 and Rs 381 crore in 2019-2020, the Union minister in-charge of MSMEs said.

Gadkari also informed that loans were available for women under the Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme and Credit Guarantee Trust fund for micro and small industries, wherein 75 per cent loan guarantee is secured by the government.