Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman stressed on the importance of financial inclusion which the Prime Minister very strongly takes up to ensure inclusion for all strata of the society through various schemes
Sitharaman is on a three day visit to Nagaland. She stated that such inclusion provides people access to credit without much security which is very crucial for most people in the bottom layer of the economy who often fall prey to middlemen who charge exorbitant interest rates. She also stressed on the importance of connectivity both physical and digital connectivity to ensure access to facility and security.
Sitharaman thanked and appreciated
and its management for reaching out so far to provide space for financial inclusion and access to all kinds of facilities.
She also expressed appreciation to the Axis Bank management teams in Assam and Meghalaya which are simultaneously being inaugurated along with Mon Branch and conveyed the same message to the people there.
She stated that the flow of investments in the Northeast was just the beginning and asserted that the desire of the Bank is to expand even further and provide banking facilities in all parts of the region.
Sitharaman on Monday attended the inaugural programme of the Nagaland CSR and Investment Conclave 2022at Kohima.
Sitharaman, narrating her conversation with the Chief Minister of Nagaland, said the anxious voice of the Chief Minister saying that Nagaland doesn’t get enough CSR investment has made it possible to bring all the business leaderships and investors together in the form of CSR Conclave. She urged the cooperates and industries to naturally choose Nagaland although it would take a little bit of effort.
On mandatory CSR investments, she said the CSR board takes the decision and depending on social activity funds are provided, and CSR happens when investments take place. She added that without the mandatory rule a lot of investors have come in to check up, and the Conclave should be the stepping stone for many more investments.
She mentioned the growing importance of Healthcare and Logistics, and the youths can take active part. She expressed the need to set up CII training centres for the young energetic people to get skilled along with certificates and take leadership roles in those sectors.
She said organic vegetables and fruits are in great demand which the state produces but aggregating, storing and finding markets is a challenge. She also stressed on identifying one product in each district with common facilities and digitising marketing- it can be agriculture or handicraft products.
Emphasizing the importance of branding, she said “it is a big deal once you identify it with an image, global markets are waiting but efforts have to be made to brand it.”She also suggested to bring the Atal Tinkering Lab, a flagship initiative of Atal Innovation Mission of NITI Aayog. She viewed homestays in Nagaland as a major potential where a lot of domestic tourists could experience the natural lifestyle of the Nagas since a lot of youth in India are very mobile.
To ensure CSR reaches Nagaland, the Union Minister suggested a task force of Naga youth to move around the country and to ensure building brand Nagaland.She expressed appreciation to the companies and investors who had brought in investment, and ensure giving resources for equal development of all the states in India.
Source : From the Web