Planning Commission allocates Rs 24,124 cr for MSME Ministry in 12th Plan

NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday said the Planning Commission has allocated Rs 24,124 crore for the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises ( MSME) for the 12th Five-Year Plan.

"The Planning Commission has allocated Rs 24,124 crore for 12th Five-Year Plan for the Ministry of MSME which is subject to the approval of National Development Council," MSME Minister K H Muniyappa said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

The 12th Plan allocation represents an increase of 133.5 per cent over the 11th Five-Year Plan allocation of Rs 10,330 crore, he added.

Talking about the credit facilitation centres to small units, Muniyappa said, there were 1,618 specialised SME branches of public sector banks operational as on March 31, 2012 including those operational in existing MSE clusters, which provide, credit facilitation services to these units.

Replying to another query, he said, to train youth and provide them employment through entrepreneurial opportunities, Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Programmes are conducted by various agencies under the MSME Ministry.

"At all-India level, a target of training 4.9 lakh persons during 2012-13 has been set," he said.