BANGALORE: The Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA) opened a School of Business Management in the city on Thursday. Union minister for micro, small and medium scale industries Virbhadra Singh, who inaugurated the school, said that KASSIA would be made a partner institute in the skill development scheme and financial assistance would also be provided for it. He also shared that he had written to the Finance Minister for ‘providing an enabling framework for equity formation’.
He said that the formation of the School of Business Management would help meeting the ever increasing demand for skilled labour in the country today.
He added that the KASSIA’s Business School could help create a vibrant entrepreneurial eco system for start-ups and early stage enterprises which can lead to significant increase in employment.
Adding the initiatives taken for the sector, he said that the a public procurement policy for SMEs which mandated 20% reservation for SMEs in all procurements by government departments and PSUs in addition to special 4% earmarked for SC/STs. Added to this, there is a target of training 1.5 crore persons within 2022 and more than 40 lakh persons during the 12the Five-Year Plan.
He said that there would be free training to SC/ST, women and physically challenged along with monthly stipend of Rs 500 per trainee and a provision for 15% capital subsidy on institutional loans up to Rs 1 crore availed by MSMEs under the Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS). Reiterating the collateral-free credit facility, he said that this would entail providing a guarantee cover up to 85 per cent.