Bhubaneswar: The second day of the Senior Officers’ Conference started here on Wednesday with a session on “Start-ups and MSMEs Driving Odisha’s Economy”. The Principal Secretary of the MSME department presented a brief overview of the topic which was followed by sharing experiences and best practices by Collectors of Sundargarh, Sonepur and Balasore districts. After the presentation, the panellists interacted with the audience and answered their queries. 
According to a press communiqué by the department, the session focused on the significance of micro, small and medium enterprises at the national and state level as it is the second largest employer of people after the agriculture sector. Start-ups also come under the broad definition of MSMEs. The vision of the Chief Minister to create a vibrant and conducive ecosystem for the growth of start-ups and MSMEs in Odisha was thoroughly discussed in the session.
Various financial and non-financial incentives available to MSMEs and start-ups under Odisha MSME Development Policy-2022, Odisha Food Processing Policy-2022, Odisha Export Policy-2022 and Odisha Start-up Policy-2016 were highlighted for wide dissemination amongst Collectors and senior officers.
As the easy availability of bank loans is extremely essential for the growth of MSMEs and start-ups, Collectors were impressed to ensure that banks achieve their targets under government-sponsored loan schemes meant for MSMEs. All senior officers were made aware of the legal provision for payment of MSME dues within 45 days failing which the defaulter will pay compound interest at three times the bank rate. For facilitating the sale of products manufactured by the micro and small enterprises (MSEs) of Odisha, the state government has made a Rate Contract system and provisions of preferential treatment to micro and small enterprises in government procurement tenders such as exemption from depositing EMD, exemption from past work experience and past minimum turnover criteria and lesser security deposit than what is applicable to non-MSEs.
All senior officers were impressed to ensure the strict implementation of these government provisions. The commitment of the state government to make Odisha the top start-up state of the country and steps taken in this direction such as constituting a not-for-profit company in the name of Start-up Odisha, creating a world-class tower in the name of O-Hub to provide working and incubation space to startups and financial assistance provided to hundreds of start-ups and incubators were discussed.
In the end, all senior officers were impressed to interact with young people as much as possible and encourage them to take up entrepreneurship as a career option by telling them about the various incentives the state government is providing for new MSMEs and start-ups.
