PM to present national awards to MSMEs and banks tomorrow

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will present national awards to MSMEs and banks in recognition of excellence in their field here tomorrow.
The national awards were instituted in 1983 to felicitate outstanding performers in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector in the areas of entrepreneurship, R&D, product quality, innovation and lean manufacturing techniques.
The awards are also given to outstanding achievers in khadi and village industries & coir sector apart from banks in recognition of their credit support to MSMEs.
This year the total number of national awardees are 114, including 37 for MSME sector, 51 for khadi & village industries and 20 for coir industries in different categories and six for banks.

The first, second and third national awards carry a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000, respectively, a certificate and a trophy. Besides, special awards are given to honour one outstanding woman entrepreneur, one outstanding entrepreneur from SC/ST community and one entrepreneur from the North Eastern region.
The awards function will be presided over by Minister of State for MSME K H Muniyappa.
The amount of cash prize received by the winners of the national awards is exempted under Section 10(7) of Income Tax Act 1961.