Union finance minister P Chidambaram appealed to bankers to shed their ‘conservative’ attitude towards lending to youngsters who are willing to take a risk. “A large number of young men and women are willing to become entrepreneurs, willing to create wealth and employment,” he said while releasing the 1,00,000th credit guarantee approval by Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE), which was set up by the government of India and Sidbi.
He said there are 26 lakh registered micro, small, and medium enterprises in India, while the unregistered ones are around 1.30 crore enterprises. “Even today, 40% of all of India’s exports originate from micro, small, and medium enterprises,” he added.
Chidambaram said a ‘quite and noticed’ revolution is under way in this sector, where not all young men and women of India prefer to take up a job. Instead, they are willing to become entrepreneurs.
During his visits to various parts of the country, he has come across complaints by young men and women, who have highlighted the lack of credit for their enterprises.
Chidambaram said bankers should take note of the “radical change in the mindset of young India” and must adapt to meet the demands of a ‘rising India’.
He said, “For every entrepreneur willing to take a risk, there must be a banker on the other side of the table willing to take that risk (in lending credit).
In a bid to encourage small and medium entrepreneurs, Chidambaram suggested CGTMSE to come out with another 50,000 credit approvals by March end this fiscal.