#IndiaKaDNA Conclave: MSME definition changed, will create 5 crore jobs in 5 years, Nitin Gadkari

New Delhi: Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said that MSME has a huge contribution in the economy but due to the coronavirus crisis, it has suffered a great deal.

Speaking on Zee News's India DNA E-Conclave, Gadkari said, "The central government has given an economic package of Rs 20 lakh crores to salvage all areas. Out of this, Rs 3 lakh crore has been given to MSME sector.

Gadkari said that despite the losses due to the pandemic there is a positive aspect to it. He cited the example of India made PPE kits. :"For two months we did not make PPE kits. It was ordered from China but now 3 lakh PPE kits are being made within the country in a day. Now we are planning to export it," he said.

He said that Swadeshi cannot be associated with self-reliant India. India is trying to be self-reliant. "We will reduce imports, will encourage exports. There should not be disappointment in the Corona crisis. Must move with positive thinking. The opposition should not govern the workers in such a corona period," he said.

When asked on Shiv Sena's remarks on actor Sonu Sood, who is helping the migrant laborers in Mumbai, being callef the supreme leader of BJP, Gadkari said that Sonu Sood has done his engineering from Nagpur but he has nothing to do with BJP.