The government aims to increase the MSME sector’s share in the gross domestic product (GDP) to 40 per cent to benefit the rural poor, Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Nitin Gadkari said on Saturday. Around 6.5 crore MSMEs contribute 30 per cent to the GDP now.

Gadkari emphasised that a policy has to be made to empower the poor. “We are not in favour of westernisation, but we are in favour of modernisation, in the villages. This is the time for socio-economic transformation,” he said.

He called for lasting and transformative changes at the village level through innovative, research-based technology, specially adapted for rural areas, an official statement said.

Addressing a workshop at the Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University at Wardha in Maharashtra, he pointed out that village industries and Khadi generate as much as Rs 88,000 crore on an annual basis.

This can be increased if policy is flexible and innovative, and is aimed at improving the life of people living in villages. Gadkari also stressed that goods produced by village industries can be sold better if they are marketed better.

Migration of as much as 30 per cent of the country’s population from rural areas has taken place since Independence due to lack of growth of the village economy, the minister said.