Kerala was presented with ASPA’s award for Innovation in Public Administration for the successful implementation of Year of Enterprises (YOE) project.
American Society of Public Administration (ASPA) is a membership association of almost 10,000 professionals in the United States, sponsoring conferences and providing professional services primarily in the areas of government policy, public administration and programmes of civil society.
Suman Billa, who was till recently Principal Secretary, Department of Industries and Commerce, received the award on behalf of the Kerala government at the event held in Washington, DC.
In his online presentation to the annual conference of ASPA on ‘Developing Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Policy and Successful implementation: A Case Study of Year of Enterprises’, the State Industries Minister, P. Rajeeve said, the YOE initiative launched by the government in 2022-23 for building a highly conducive ecosystem for MSME sector powered the State’s profound transformation into an industrial and entrepreneurship friendly ecosystem.
The massive outcome of the project, which unlocked the entrepreneurial potential of the State, has far exceeded its initial target of creating over 100,000 units in the MSME sector in a year and generating over 300,000 jobs, he said.
Kerala, according to the minister, has created a model of sustainable growth by adopting the right strategies and ensuring the convergence of efforts across the MSME ecosystem, government departments, R&D and academic institutions, trade unions and financial institutions.
The government has simplified and rationalised procedures for starting MSME units. At the grassroots, the local bodies have been leveraged for monitoring the progress of the scheme, besides roping in the State’s robust startup ecosystem for technology support.
These efforts exceeded expectations leading to the creation of over 350,000 MSMEs during 2022-25. Quoting data from the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC), the minister said there has been a massive increase in loans provided to the MSMEs since the launch of YOE.
