Hope young businesses will tap SME entrepreneurship: Smriti Irani

In her message to the young digital entrepreneurs on the sidelines of Fortune India's Most Powerful Women in business award ceremony, women and child development minister Smriti Irani said youngsters who are not only mindful of their business needs but also business responsibilities, will rise to the occasion to ensure that the opportunities created percolate to the level of small sized companies and help them grow in size and scale.

"I think the Amrit Kaal ka Budget as the prime minister calls it created a foundation for opportunities in diverse sectors. Given that India has now pronounced the world’s largest hydrogen mission, given that the budget gives a huge thrust to artificial intelligence, given that the country is going to give the largest order in the aviation business ever, I think that the opportunities are multiple," she said.  

"But I also believe that while we create opportunities for the large-sized companies, we need to be mindful that till such time we do not support the entire supply chain and create entrepreneurship from the SME level onwards, till such time we do not target the financially robust SMEs and help transition them to mid-sized companies, I do not think that the fruits of opportunities created for the large-sized companies will percolate to the ground with the kind of clarity we would want it to happen. I believe that the youngsters who are not only conscious about their business needs but also business responsibilities will rise to the occasion," Irani added.