The State Government is not finding enough takers for its New Entrepreneur-cum-Enterprise Development Scheme (NEEDS), Minister for Tamil Official Language, Tamil Culture and Archaeology Ma. Foi. K. Pandiarajan said here on Monday.
Addressing the valedictory of the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Coimbatore Productivity Council (CPC), he said that though the Government had set a target to help 1,000 persons turn entrepreneurs a year, it was getting only around 600 to 700 applicants a year.
Later, speaking to reporters, he said though the Government gave ₹ 25 lakh in grant and arranged for another ₹ 4.75 crore as loan with interest subvention under NEEDS, not many came forward probably because of the aversion towards risk taking.
In the United States, around 15% new enterprises were incubated by entrepreneurs even when they were students. If such a situation were to be present in the State, then the scheme would succeed and for that the Government was working with education institutions, Mr. Pandiarajan said.
To the gathering at the celebrations, the Minister said the CPC should reinvent itself as productivity had undergone a change in the 60 years the organisation functioned.
The CPC should bring about a sharper focus by identifying its core competency. It should also look at patenting processes in production.
Municipal Administration and Rural Development Minister S.P. Velumani said the Government was working towards developing Coimbatore and had announced various schemes. Now work was under way to alter the Gandhipuram flyover to provide access to Cross Cut and 100 Feet roads. Earlier, it was not done so because of the plan to shift the bus stands there to Vellalore.
The work to prepare a feasibility report for a metro rail project for the city was under preparation and the project could take off with JICA funding.
He also spoke about the move to build flyovers at Ondipudur, Ramanathapuram, Sungam, Lawley Road and Kavundampalayam junctions and an elevated corridor on Avinashi Road.
The chairman of the diamond jubilee celebrations committee Kavidasan appealed the State Government to allot 25 acre for establishing a new premises for the Council.
V. Veerappan, Co-founder and president, Tessolve Group, spoke about how industries could adapt to change and the need for value in business.
Earlier, CPC president A.M. Natarajan welcomed the gathering.
