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Imnatiba addressing the gathering of entrepreneurs, officials, and students during the Nagaland state conclave at the Agri Expo Centre, in Dimapur on Feb. 5.[/caption]
Speaking at the conclave, Imnatiba called NSSH the mother of all schemes that covers the purpose of all the SC and ST communities.
The legislator believed that the scheme would act as a catalyst to the entrepreneurs from SC and ST ‘to reach higher level.’ He urged everyone to make best use of the scheme and challenged them to never stop but to go on until the objective of the central government is achieved.
Also, stressing on the importance of understanding the state’s context, which he believed was imperative for implementing the scheme, Imnatiba opined that the context should be studied and understood comprehensively before carrying out the scheme.
Emphasising that the same scheme implemented in other states may not be applicable to Nagaland, the advisor asked Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal, the national working president for Forum of SC and ST Legislatures and Parliamentarians, to study and understand Nagaland’s context, which he believed would help him to perform the scheme better.
The advisor lamented about the present scenario Nagaland is in, while admitting ‘whatever we established ever since the attainment of statehood, everything had been closed down.’
Imnatiba also mentioned about the existence of taxation in Nagaland, while admitting that he heard about it from the business community though he did not face it personally. “If an entrepreneur wants to start an enterprise, he has to pay taxation; underground taxation. They can’t move ahead, that is the reality,” maintained Imnatiba.
The legislator also spoke about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2016, which has been opposed by students’ organisations and civil society organisations in Nagaland. However, Imnatiba opined that the Naga political issue was more important than the Citizenship Bill, for which he urged church leaders and civil society organisations to come out with a clear vision and concept about solving the issue, the way they have opposed the Bill.
Earlier, national working president for Forum of SC and ST Legislatures and Parliamentarians, Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal said that NSSH is an umbrella, in which all the departments, ministries, and schemes are interlinked as one; 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' (Hindi for collective effort, inclusive growth), he said.
Atwal urged the students to not only aim for government jobs but to try their hand at entrepreneurship. Mentioning about many parents’ mentality in the country, in which they want their children to study hard and become engineers, doctors, and get other government jobs, Atwal asked the students to do away with that tradition; rather, students should aim to study in a way they could become entrepreneurs, immediately after the completion of studies.
The president encouraged students and youth from Nagaland to take part in the NSSH, which he opined would motivate them to pursue the field of entrepreneurship. “Now, youth should become job givers, not job seekers,” Atwal stated.
Later, Dr. M Chuba Ao, the chairman of Marcofed and Lithrongla G Chishi, Commissioner and Secretary, Industries and Commerce also spoke during the programme, during which they highlighted about the abundance of resources in Nagaland. They encouraged the students and youth in Nagaland to make use of the resources and become successful entrepreneurs.
NSSH is a central sector scheme of the ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME). It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It aims to create a supportive ecosystem for SC and ST entrepreneurs by assisting them in capacity building and enabling them to effectively participate in the public procurement process.