NAMSAI, Jun 26: To commemorate International MSME Day, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Itanagar organized a townhall meeting on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) at Multipurpose Cultural Hall here today.
The programme aimed to bring unbanked entrepreneurs into the formal financial system, strengthen credit access, and facilitate direct interaction between entrepreneurs, banks and key stakeholders.
The meeting was inaugurated by Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, who graced the occasion as chief guest. The programme was attended by C R Khampa, Deputy Commissioner Namsai; Dr Keshav Sharma, District Planning Officer Namsai; Abhijit Majumdar, General Manager RBI, Itanagar; Amit Ranjan, Deputy General Manager, SLBC, SBI, Guwahati; officials from various government departments, representatives of SIDBI, NABARD, bankers from commercial banks, Arunachal Pradesh Rural Bank and Arunachal Pradesh State Cooperative Apex Bank.
Around 450 participants, including MSME entrepreneurs, Self Help Group (SHG) members, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), officials of Arunachal State Rural Livelihoods Mission (ArSRLM) and Moneywise CRISIL Foundation, also participated in the event.
Addressing the gathering, the Dy CM highlighted the crucial role of MSMEs in driving inclusive economic growth and employment generation. He noted that the MSME sector contributes nearly 30 per cent to India’s GDP and is the country's second-largest source of employment.
He spoke about the State Government's recent MSME Facilitation Ordinance, 2026, which aims to improve the ease of doing business through simplified procedures and a single-window mechanism for MSME loan processing. He also highlighted flagship initiatives such as the Arunachal Pradesh Entrepreneurship Development Programme (APEDP) 5.0, Deendayal Upadhyay Swavalamban Yojana (DDUSY) and the ARUN MSME Mission, which provide capital subsidies, interest subvention and entrepreneurship support to youth and women. He urged aspiring entrepreneurs and SHG members to take advantage of these schemes and become self-reliant job creators.
Speaking on the occasion, GM RBI (Itanagar) observed that while banks in Arunachal Pradesh have achieved the Priority Sector Lending targets under the Annual Credit Plan, the State's Credit-Deposit (CD) Ratio stood at 42.73 percent as on March 2026, which remains below the RBI benchmark of 60 percent. He appealed to banks to enhance credit flow to MSMEs and entrepreneurs under various Government schemes to accelerate economic development and improve the State's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).
The DC, in his speech, stressed that sustainable economic development depends on enhancing the purchasing power of citizens through entrepreneurship. He encouraged entrepreneurs to explore emerging business opportunities in waste management, recycling and upcycling of discarded materials into value-added products.
The DPO encouraged entrepreneurs and financial institutions to work together towards the vision of Viksit Arunachal by promoting value addition and exports of local products. He assured continued support from the district administration for skill development and enterprise promotion.
Speaking on behalf of NABARD, Kamal Roy, Assistant General Manager, highlighted NABARD's initiatives in promoting MSMEs through credit planning, sustainable agriculture, climate-resilient development and Geographical Indication (GI)-based livelihood promotion.
During the programme, the Dy CM formally launched NABARD’s Potential Linked Credit Plan (PLP) for Namsai district, which has projected a Priority Sector credit potential of Rs 164.78 crore for the district.