Why giving Gadkari the MSME ministry may be a most inspired decision

The MSME sector, despite its potential, defies a single solution. Yet, there is no doubt that if India has any hope to get a strong handle for growth of employment, this is the sector to look to

The allotment of the Ministry of Micro and Small Enterprises in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new Council of ministers to Nitin Jairam Gadkari, in addition to the road transport and shipping portfolio, is not surprising. As a ballast for employment generation in the economy, the role of the MSME sector is massive, but it has underperformed. Significantly, in the past two decades, no minister so senior in the protocol has been awarded this ministry. Gadkari ranks fourth in the Cabinet.

In the past five years, almost every time the government has faced a challenge in some sector of the economy, it