Government to focus on rural industrialisation

NEW DELHI: The Government is working towards providing a fillip to ‘rural industrialisation’ by streamlined approach to generate employment, additional income, improve quality of rural life and bring about a greater harmony between rural and urban industrialisation.

This was stated by Oscar Fernandes, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Statistics & Programme Implementation, at a CII seminar in the capital today.

Calling for a private-public partnership for rural upliftment, Fernandes said that there is an urgent need to uplift rural India and the way ahead, he said, was rural industrialisation.

However, he added that rural industrialisation should not be taken for dispersal of large industries to the countryside where these industries in turn create a few pockets of urbanisation.

"Rural industrialisation should be done by tapping vast material and human resources existing in the countryside," he said.

The minister said that the approach towards development should not be merely based on upgradation of technology but the focal point should be to include managerial aspects as well.

Speaking on the occasion, Tinoo Joshi, Development Commissioner - Handicrafts, said that the corporate sector should come forward to update the government on various aspects of value addition and supply market information.

She called upon the corporate sector to don the role of a mentor, by becoming technical partners and help the rural entrepreneurs in evolving an effective mechanism of designing, finishing and marketing products.

Mrs Joshi informed that the government is trying to come up with visible places which can be accessed by buyers and which could act as an access mode by the market itself for handlooms and handicraft.