Mumbai, Jun 30 (KNN) Former Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has said that India can become self-reliant in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

He said this while speaking at the ‘Virtual Entrepreneur Dialogue’ organised on Sunday by the Maharashtra branch of the BJP Udyog Aghadi adding, ''the entrepreneurs in small and medium industries should work together to make Marathwada and Vidarbha prosperous.''

 ''In the past, the Indian economy was operating on a cluster approach, which led to prosperity in various sectors. When an industry starts, prosperity comes to the country and the State,'' he asserted.

 He further lauded the entrepreneurs in Vidarbha and Marathwada and said they have potential.

''We use a lot of foreign goods throughout the day. All these products can be produced locally. For this, the research and development process should be implemented and the goods should be produced in our country using the funds and concessions given by the Centre Government. This will save foreign exchange,” he observed.

The former FM also appealed to the entrepreneurs in Vidarbha and Marathwada to be at the forefront in the MSME sector and work towards making Vidarbha and Marathwada pioneers in this field.

Later, he asked the firms to prepare a report on all the issues which will be given to Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur.