Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday addressed the second edition of the ICC MSME Conclave 2026 in Jammu, underscoring the outsized role Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises play in generating employment, driving exports and powering India’s broader economic growth.
Sinha told the gathering that MSMEs contribute 31.3 percent to India’s GDP and account for nearly half of the country’s exports, calling the sector the “true builders” of India’s economic resilience and self-reliance. He framed the conclave as an opportunity to spotlight a segment of the economy that, despite operating largely outside the spotlight reserved for large corporates, has quietly become central to the country’s growth story.
Laying out his vision for the sector’s future, the Lieutenant Governor identified four key priorities: affordable credit, technological upgradation, tighter supply-chain integration and a reduction in bureaucratic hurdles that continue to slow smaller enterprises. He also pressed for wider adoption of green technologies, formalisation of micro industries that still operate informally, stronger partnerships between educational institutions and industry, and sharper export competitiveness to help Indian MSMEs compete more effectively in global markets.
Sinha pointed to the emergence of Nano Global Capability Centres and technology-driven enterprises as a development with particular relevance for cities like Jammu and Srinagar, suggesting these smaller-format hubs could open fresh opportunities for the Union Territory’s urban centres to plug into high-value, technology-led growth rather than relying solely on traditional manufacturing and trade.
Turning to Jammu and Kashmir’s own economic trajectory, the Lieutenant Governor highlighted what he described as a marked transformation in recent years, with investments and start-up activity both showing significant growth. He cited a sharp rise in Udyam registrations, the government’s formal enterprise registration system, which have grown from roughly 24,000 in 2021 to more than six lakh today, a jump he presented as concrete evidence of expanding formal entrepreneurial activity across the Union Territory.
Sinha closed his address with a broader call to industry leaders and stakeholders, urging them to help build a terror-free, corruption-free, merit-based and prosperous society, and to actively contribute to the region’s inclusive development as Jammu and Kashmir continues its economic transition.
The conclave comes at a moment when policymakers across India are increasingly framing MSME growth as central to the country’s ambitions of becoming a larger, more self-reliant economy, with Jammu and Kashmir positioning itself as a case study in how conflict-affected regions can rebuild investor confidence and formal economic participation.
