With its abundant natural resources and numerous agro-geo climatic zones, Uttarakhand has tremendous potential to turn into a hub for production and export of several local products including flowers, horticulture produce (fruits, vegetables, medicinal and aromatics, mushrooms, etc.), textiles and carpets, woollen products and industrial infrastructure. Despite producing specialized/niche products in different parts of the state, Uttarakhand has been facing challenges in development of MSMEs for niche products in the absence of commercial cultivation practices and standardization of the quality of its products. Without adequate credit and market linkages, or value addition and processing facilities, agri-business and agro-value chain development remains a highly under-developed segment of the MSME sector.

As a way to address these challenges, the Government of Uttarakhand has embarked upon a Growth Centre (GC) Scheme in 2018,  for establishment of growth centres in specific rural areas to promote identified economic activities and help specialized/niche local produce and services reach the national and international market. This will help create income-generating opportunities and reduce out-migration of the youth, which is currently a major challenge for the state. The Growth Centre Scheme will focus on identifying leading products and service, and promotion of local products removing the critical gaps in infrastructure, and developing specific areas by implementing the economic activities.

The cluster-based approach is built on the lines of the Micro & Small Enterprises – Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP) of the Ministry of Micro and Small Enterprises (MSMEs), Government of India that seeks to link together common physical infrastructure facilities for enterprises that are producing same/similar/complementary products and/or services to help them address their common challenges. The growth centres shall be established in remote parts of Uttarakhand that are witnessing high out-migration of rural youth. Export-oriented units will be set up with the support of local communities for large scale production of several agri-products, fruits, vegetables, non-agri products, and food processing units. Such clusters will have tremendous economic potential as they will build on the state’s comparative advantages i.e. natural endowments, traditional skills, and basic entrepreneurial spirit.

The growth centres seek to empower entrepreneurs, farmers, and craftsmen/artisans to engage in product-specific value chains, upscale their products, and improve productivity through access to new designs, technology and knowledge which will enable them to successfully operate micro and small enterprises. The scheme will support the production of high-value products and diversification of existing outputs through development of fixed assets and supporting infrastructure. Rural-urban linkages will also be strengthened which will enable growth centres in and across the most-impacted/vulnerable districts to become catalysts for rural employment, and help reduce rural poverty through SHGs/FPCs  led public-private partnerships.

The State Government would support these initiatives by plugging the gaps through infrastructural and institutional development. The programme will build capacities of people, provide skills, and strengthen backward linkages by dovetailing several existing schemes through various state departments. Moreover, value addition and marketing support will be the keystones of the programme. With these objectives in mind, the growth centre approach aims to support the state’s poverty reduction goals and promote shared prosperity through economic activities.