Govt to lease MSME technology centres to IITs, engineering colleges: Nitin Gadkari

New Delhi, Dec 17 (KNN) In a bid to encourage research and innovation, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) is planning to lease technology centres to engineering colleges, IITs, polytechnic colleges and industry associations with a good track record said MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari.

The minister also said there is a need to create employment using surplus resources.

"Today, there is an import of Rs 8 lakh crore crude oil in the country, instead, we can build Rs 2 lakh crore ethanol economy by tapping into domestic resources. The gap between India and Bharat is still wide but with our motto of reform, perform and transform, we can definitely overcome the challenges,” Gadkari said while speaking at the MSME Finance Week on Wednesday which was organised by the Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME).

Claiming that Rs 6,000 crore have been invested in technology centres until now, Gadkari said that: "Now we are planning to give these technology centres on a lease basis to engineering colleges, IITs, polytechnic colleges and industry association with a good track record.''

The MSME Minister further said that a key reason for most MSMEs to turn into non-performing assets (NPAs) is delayed reconciliation of their receivables and bills that creates liquidity constraints hence affecting their sustainability.