ITANAGAR, Nov 25: Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema
Khandu recently said the state government will set up a
dedicated development cell for women entrepreneurs with a
seed money of Rs 5 crore.
Speaking at the opening session of the Women
Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) state workshop organised by
NITI Aayog here, Khandu said the centre will function as a hub
for women entrepreneurs providing access to mentorship,
capacity building exercises, and other programmes beneficial
for women-led startups.
The centre will also run dedicated incubation and acceleration
programmes for women, he added.
He also rolled out five new initiatives under WEP which will be
implemented by NITI Aayog.
Lauding the NITI Aayog for conducting the workshop for
women entrepreneurs of the Northeast in Itanagar, Khandu
said over the past seven years, his government has adopted a
holistic approach to creating an enabling environment for
women entrepreneurs that includes multiple interventions such
as policy support, monetary support through front-ended
subsidies, earmarking of schemes for women entrepreneurs
and micro-entrepreneurs, etc.
He mentioned that approximately 6,500 of the more than
20,000 MSMEs in Arunachal Pradesh are owned by women.
Referring to the Arunachal Pradesh Start-up Policy, Khandu said
under the scheme, a minimum of one incubation centre will be
established in the state and later extend the facilities to at least
50 per cent of the districts over the next five years.
He informed that a special clause to support women
entrepreneurs has also been included in the Arunachal Pradesh
Start-up Policy 2022-23.
“Women-led development has always been the priority of the
government of India and the government of Arunachal
Pradesh,” he asserted.
“I request all aspiring entrepreneurs of Arunachal Pradesh to
take advantage of these initiatives. Let this platform pave the
way for a future for women entrepreneurship promotion,” he
added.
NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission mission director Dr
Chintan Vaishnav, co-lead for WEP in states Yashodhara Rajoria,
WEP executive committee member Anna Roy, chief secretary
Dharmendra, central and state government officials and
women entrepreneurs from various North-Eastern states
attended the programme. (PTI)
