A flower and fragrance park at an estimated cost of `40 crore would be established in Puducherry, said Union Minister of State for Micro, small and Medium Enterprises, K H Muniyappa.
Around 10 to 15 acres of land would be required for the project funded by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) through World Bank assistance and Chief Minister had assured to provide land for establishing the centre. He said one such centre exits in Kanuaj and more centres at Arunachal Pradesh and Imphal including Puducherry would come up.
Delivering his address after laying foundation stone of MSME Technology Centre at a cost of `100 crore at Pillaichavady here on Saturday, he said that another 15 such centres would be set up in the country with assistance from World Bank in addition to the 18 centres in existence. Such centres are being established in places covering a population of at least five crore. But the Central government has shown special benevolence to Puducherry by providing it for a population of 12 lakh. Once established, more than 10,000 skilled manpower would come out of this training centre.
The projects are being materialised in Puducherry due to the coordinated efforts of Narayanasamy and Rangasamy and urged them to join hands together for ensuring the development of Puducherry. With the synchronized efforts of the duo, no one can impede the development of Puducherry, Muniyappa observed. While Narayanasamy is perusing the projects with the ministries concerned , Rangasamy is providing the land and other support, Muniyappa said.
Speaking on the occasion, Narayanasamy said though not even one MSME Technology park was established in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry is getting the facility which would be of immense benefit to entrepreneurs and youth in securing jobs. It reflects the special concern the Union government has for Puducherry, said Narayanasamy.
Chief Minister N Rangasamy urged the Union government to extend all special concessions and incentives granted to industries earlier, which were subsequently withdrawn. He noted these incentives were necessary for attracting industries and retaining those in existence in Puducherry. Due to the withdrawal of incentives, several industries were closing down and moving to other States, said Rangasamy.
He also urged the banks to come forward to extend loans to youth who volunteer for self employment after receiving training at the centre. CII-Puducherry chairperson K Amarnath outlined the initiatives taken by CII and pursued by Narayanasmy, Lieutenant Governor Virendra Kataria, Rangasamy and Chief Secretary. He said the centre would not only facilitate industries to get testing facilities as well as components, but also trained human resource for employment. It will be a big boost for MSMEs, which number more than 3,000 in Puducherry.
Any one from VIII standard to B Tech could get skill development training at the MSME Technology Centre and become employable. The employment ratio of the training centre is 97 per cent, said Amarendra Sinha, development commissioner and additional secretary, MSME, New Delhi.