National Innovation Council
The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), on the advice of the erstwhile National Innovation Council, proposed to set up a Rs.5,000 crore dedicated fund namely ‘India Inclusive Innovation Fund’ for promoting grass-root innovations with social returns. The total corpus of this fund is proposed to be an initial size of Rs. 500 crore and maximum size of Rs. 5,000 crore with initial Government contribution of Rs.100.00 Crore. Since National Innovation Council has ceased to exist, a revision in the three level of Management structure has been proposed.
The Fund would operate as a for-profit entity with a social investment focus. The exact extent to which the India Inclusive Innovation Fund is likely to benefit the MSME Sector has not been estimated, however it is proposed to back enterprises developing innovative solutions primarily for citizens who lie in the lower half of India’s economic pyramid, with a limited physical and institutional access to basic services.
This information was given by the Minister of State, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Giriraj Singh in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha here today.
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