The Centre is mulling providing help to the micro, small and medium enterprises which were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and a high-level meeting has been held in this regard, Union Minister Narayan Rane said on Friday.

       Restarting closed factories will create jobs and raise production and the GDP, the MSME minister told reporters here.

       Asked about the closure of factories and problems faced by other industries during the pandemic, Rane said, "Our government is contemplating to help the micro, small and medium industries that were closed during the Corona period."

       "I had raised this issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and we have had a meeting regarding this. We will help them and get the closed factories resume (operations)," he added.

       To become a self-reliant India, it is necessary to increase production. In this effort, Centre is trying to help the factories restart, he said.

       Earlier, Rane released Khadi India's new product, an anti-bacterial cloth prepared from cow dung at the Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute here.

       Speaking on the occasion, Rane said this product will benefit the consumers and help in creating new employment opportunities for farmers and the younger generation.

       The anti-bacterial cloth will be of great use in this time of the pandemic and many types of products can be made from it in the near future, he noted.

       Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) Chairman Vinay Kumar Saxena said working on the 'vocal for local' theme, the institute has invented an eco-friendly Khadi natural paint from cow dung for the first time in the country.

       In the production of this Khadi natural paint, 25 to 30 per cent cow dung is used, he added.

       (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)