EDC in State on the cards

Hyderabad: The State government is keen on establishing an Entrepreneurship Development Centre (EDC) in collaboration with the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad. This was announced by IT and Industries Minister, Duddilla Sridhar Babu, on Tuesday after a meeting with Dr Sunil Shukla, Director General of EDII, who presented proposals for the initiatives their institute will undertake. Sridhar Babu mentioned that a consortium will be formed with the participation of the State Industries Department and various organisations to set up the centre.

EDII has already established training centres in 17 States across India, and this upcoming EDC in Telangana will play a crucial role in nurturing entrepreneurship in the State. The EDC aims to train and raise awareness among 50,000 youth over the next four years to establish small, medium, and micro enterprises. The focus will be primarily on second- and third-tier cities in the State. Each year, a minimum of 5,000 individuals will be empowered to create self-employment opportunities, with EDII providing support for up to six months after the training. In addition, the Minister emphasised that the government is committed to offering financial assistance to MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) that were impacted by losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, helping them recover.

Sridhar Babu also highlighted that, through the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an initiative of the Government of India similar to platforms like Amazon and Flipkart, businesses will have the opportunity to market their products for free. Dr Abdul Razak, in charge of the EDII Goa Entrepreneurship Development Centre, also participated in the meeting.