Udyam Sakhi Portal

Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises

Context:

New information about Udyam Sakhi was given by Union Minister for MSME Shri Narayan Rane in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

Introduction:

The central government of India has announced about a web portal in support of women entrepreneurs in India. Encouraging them to become self established the government has started this new Udyam Web Portal so that women can register under the portal for betterment in their lives. Under the supervision of MSME Ministry, the web portal was launched in March 2018

Key Features Udyam Sakhi Portal

• Aim: To empower women in the nation through low cost production by creating business models, the portal has been developed. Along with that it will encourage entrepreneurship in India among the women.
• Target: It is important to improve the socio-economic condition of the nation. The central government agrees to the fact that women’s contribution to the socio-economic state of the nation is major. The target of the portal is to offer efficient and low cost goods and services to the economy for betterment of India.
• Beneficiaries: As mentioned that the portal is launched for women, any woman across the nation can register under this portal. Currently over 8 million women are associated with business in India (Small, medium & big). After launching Udyam Sakhi Portal more women will be able to associate with business, as per the sources.
• Benefits: Along with encouraging women to become independent, the services will be motivational for many beneficiaries. As it will be easier to associate with the portal, now more women can start learning, working and exploring the outer world.

Services offered by Udyam Sakhi Portal

• Learning Service: The portal will facilitate the candidates with effective entrepreneurship learning tools for creation of business plans and so on. These tools will help them to understand the real business world.
• Training Programs: Apart from learning tools, various training programs will be conducted by the Udyam Sakhi Portal. These programs will help the beneficiaries to get hands-on knowledge on business plans and so on. Also it will help conducting fund raising programs as well.
• Mentor Service: One can get a mentor from the portal as well. If the beneficiaries are having any difficulties in learning or exploring business ideas, mentors can be a big help. On the other, those who have the ability to guide people can join the portal as mentors.
• Incubation: The most important part to back up Start-ups in India is the incubators. Under Udyam Sakhi service of incubation is also available. This will make the start-ups to grow more across the nation.
• Market Survey: Udyam Sakhi will conduct market surveys to update the students and entrepreneurs under the portal. It will be easier for the beneficiaries to be updated with time and advancements available in market through these surveys.
• Investor meets: Udyam Sakhi portal will be the common platform for the investors and the entrepreneurs. It will be a one-to-one meet for both of them. This will not only expand the path of business but also both of them will get benefitted.
• Development: Through the learning process, educational tools and other benefits related to students, the portal will be responsible for the development of young talents. Women who are willing to start their own low cost production can get benefits of education to incubation under Udyam Sakhi Portal.

How to Register

• To use the portal, one has to register under the portal. For Registration, the candidate needs to click on the link http://www.udyamsakhi.org/index.php. On the Home Page of the portal, a brief registration form is given.
• Fill up the form with basic details of the candidate such as Name, Date of Birth, Phone Number, E-mail ID and Registration Type. In the Registration Type the beneficiary has to choose from the drop down list of options.
• Finally select the gender (men or women) and create a password. Click on the button ‘Create an Account’ to continue with the registration. After clicking on the button, a verification code will be sent to the phone number given to the form. Enter the verification code to the given space on the page.
• An ID and Password that you have created will be sent to the beneficiaries for further use of the portal. Beneficiaries then can log in to the portal and proceed with the services they are looking for.

The portal will be a one stop solution for the women entrepreneurs in nation. Under this portal male candidates can register as well. However it mainly aims to facilitate female beneficiaries in the nation. All the mentors, guides, investors and so on can also use the portal for business ideas from all over India.

Existing business landscape in India for Women

• India with more than 20,000 start-ups has emerged as the second largest start-up ecosystem in the world and is expected to grow at 10-12 per cent year-on-year.
• India jumped 50 places in the overall ‘Ease of Doing Business’ rankings and ranks one among the top 100 countries to do business.
• India has developed a vibrant entrepreneurial landscape aided by several progressive initiatives and measures instituted by the government.
• The government initiatives including Stand-Up India, MUDRA, and NITI Aayog’s recent Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) are steps in the right direction.
• Several women-led leadership and mentorship programs such as empoWer, SAHA Fund and Sonder Connect are also gaining traction in India.

Role of women in Indian economy

• With women comprising over 48 per cent of the country’s population, it is impossible to think of economic growth without women as the fundamental drivers of change.
• It is projected that by 2025, India’s GDP will get an additional boost of 16 per cent, by integrating women into the workforce.
• Innovations by Indian women are actively reshaping engineering, technology, design, handicrafts, weaving, shoe-making, agriculture, organic farming and other cultural and creative industries.
• The recent World Economic Forum meeting at Davos adds to the notion of the new age women entrepreneur, putting out a call to bring up an equal number of women, in the labour force.
• This equalisation can enhance the Gross Domestic Product of a developing country like India by over 27 per cent.

Issues faced by women entrepreneurs

• According to the Sixth Economic Census by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), only 14 per cent businesses in India are run by women.
• It is estimated that over 90 per cent of finance requirement for women entrepreneurs is met through informal channels since they are unable to source formal, collateral free and transparent financing for their enterprises.
• Apart from this cultural and gender bias were amongst the major hindrances for women business owners in India.

Measures needs to be taken in this regard

• Progressive policies – To achieve inclusive and equitable socio-economic growth, India must ensure that at least 25 per cent of entrepreneurs in the country are women by 2025.

• Therefore, there is an urgent need to create an enabling environment for women to pursue their entrepreneurial aspirations through progressive policies.
• Business Infrastructure – India must focus on establishing necessary infrastructure, such as women-centric incubator and, increasing investment opportunities.
• Financial accessibility – Access to new age alternate funding for women entrepreneurs such as women specific venture funds and crowd funding is important for encouraging their growth.
• Also, India need to encourage women to invest in other female-led companies to balance gender disparity, co-creating both mentorship and networking platforms.
• Improving Skillsets – With emerging technologies such as \ blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (A.I) and Internet of Things (IoT), it is of vital importance that the skillset of women be expanded to match the current market trends

Source: PIB

Udyam Sakhi

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