SMEs are real heroes and nuts and bolts of Indian economy: Punjab Fin Min

New Delhi, Aug 27 (KNN) SME entrepreneurs are the real heroes and nuts and bolts of the Indian economy, said Manpreet Singh Badal, Punjab Finance Minister.

He said that that the small and medium (SME) sector industries provide maximum employment and contribute the most towards the growth of Indian economy.

Speaking at the inauguration of a day-long conclave on ‘Emerging Investment Ideas 2018’, Badal said that companies should not always only look at their revenues while working in an economy like India.

He said, "Economic growth is social justice and this must proceed."

"I hope one day Indians will be able to conquer over our enemy which happens to be corruption poverty, lack of education, housing etc. Whatever it takes we need to develop industries and services in Punjab. We need to make Punjab as investment destination," Badal added.

The MSME sector contributes eight per cent of the country's GDP, 45 per cent of the manufactured output and 40 per cent of its exports.

The MSMEs provide employment to about 60 million persons through 26 million enterprises and are important for the state and national objectives of growth with equity and inclusion.

Addressing the gathering, Innovative Financial Management Manging Director Iqbal Singh said that the objective of this conclave is to create the eco-system in this region for equity.

He said, “MSME should look at the equity capital as an alternative fund raising for their growth. It also gives the investors the opportunity to interact with the top management of the companies."

Later while talking to media persons, Iqbal Singh said that SMEs face lot of challenges and the major one is lack of equity support.

Equity support provides the leveraging capacity for raising additional debt to support capital expansion.