Crisis resolvable through political dialogue: CM Biren
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, January 16 2025: Chief minister N Biren Singh has said that all the core issues of the present crisis in Manipur could be resolved through political dialogue while cautioning that violence will not bring any solution.

The chief minister stated this at the inaugural session of the state level workshop on UNNATI (Uttar Poorva Transformative Industrialization Scheme) and RAMP (Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance) 2024 held at City Convention Centre, Palace compound Thursday.

Despite COVID-19 pandemic and thepresent crisis, the pace of development in the state has not slowed down since 2017, Biren claimed, while asserting that the state government has been focusing on development in different sectors including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME), agriculture, horticulture and industry.

He said that Manipur topped the list of MSME business registration among the North Eastern states as per the annual report (2018-19) of the Ministry of MSME.

Manipur alone has 12,438 MSME businesses, the highest in the Northeast during the period from 2015 to 2019, he maintained while confiding that 50 per cent of the businesses are owned by women.

Manipur's share in national population is 0.2 per cent whereas in MSME businesses it is 0.3 per cent, he said citing the said report.

According to CM Biren, the BJP-led government in the state has taken up various developmental initiatives since its formation in 2017 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said the government is hoping that the people pay more attention on work culture especially among educated unemployed youth.

He also informed the gathering that around Rs 500 crore under Manipur State Credit Guarantee Scheme remains unused at present and appealed people to avail benefit of the scheme.

Of the total fund allocation of around Rs 700 crore, about Rs 200 crore has been utilised.

Under this scheme, 2,575 people have been benefited so far, he said and encouraged people to utilise the remaining Rs 500 crore.

He also encouraged state entrepreneurs to seize the opportunity to enhance their businesses.

He further informed that seven successful start-ups in the state have created employment opportunities for around 300 displaced persons.

To help in the economic revival of the state, a cell has been set up under planning department particularly for agriculture and horticulture sectors, Biren said.

While urging banks to disburse sanctioned loan amounts to the approved enterprises promptly, CM Biren also advised borrowers to ensure timely repayment in order to avoid being prohibited from accessing future loans.

Manipur has been spending huge amount of money on the import of essential commodities such as eggs, fish, etc.

The state needs around 2 lakh eggs daily, spending over Rs 10 lakh.

To meet the requirement, the government has sought assistance from the North Eastern Council (NEC) for the procurement of machineries, he added.

As a part of workshop organised by the trade, commerce and industries department, presentations on the RAMP and UNNATI schemes were made by resource persons.

The event was also attended by ministers, MLAs, administrative secretaries, head of departments, bankers, and entrepreneurs, among others.

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