MINISTER OF SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES & AGRO AND RURAL INDUSTRIES (SHRI MAHABIR PRASAD)
(a): The details of the contribution made by village and small industries (VSI) including small/very small
and cottage industries to the total industrial production and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during the last
three years for which data are available, i.e., 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04, are given below :
year contribution of vsi to total contribution of vsi to the gdp industrial production
2001-02 46.84 percent 7.89 percent 2002-03 46.68 percent 8.04 percent 2003-04 46.54 percent 7.92 percent
(b): The primary responsibility of promoting small scale industries (SSI), including agro and rural industries,
rests with the State/UT Governments. The Central Government, however, supports and supplements the efforts of the
State/UT Governments by implementing various schemes and programmes throughout the country. Some of the important
schemes are :
(i)Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) for assisting eligible applicants in setting up village industry units.
Under this programme, loans are provided to eligible applicants by banks and subsidy by the Government;
(ii) Prime Minister`s Rozgar Yojana (PMRY) for assisting eligible applicants in setting up tiny units. Under this programme,
loans are provided to eligible applicants by banks and subsidy by the Government;
(iii) Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS) for technology upgradation and modernisation of production techniques;
(iv) Small Industry Cluster Development Programme (SICDP) for holistic development of SSI clusters;
(v) Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Small Industries for providing guarantee cover to banks for collateral-free loans
upto Rs. 25 lakh, sanctioned to SSI;
(vi) Rural Industries Service Centres (RISC) Scheme for setting up of common facility centers (CFCs) to provide
infrastructural support and services to such industries;
(vii) Product Development, Design Intervention and Packaging (PRODIP) Scheme for improved design and packaging of
village industry products.
(viii) Financial assistance to village industry units for participation in national and international level exhibitions
for market development; and
(ix) Interest Subsidy Eligibility Certificate (ISEC) Scheme for providing bank loans to khadi and polyvastra units
at subsidised rates of interest.
The mandate of the Government in the Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries is to facilitate creation of additional
employment opportunities by providing support to entrepreneurs in setting up labour-intensive agro and rural
industries in the non- farm sector. This does not include measures to provide remunerative prices to farmers
for agricultural produce.
