The Nepal Weekly 
May 14, 2024
President Ram Chandra Paudel highlighted the important role of promoting small and cottage entrepreneurship to move towards industrial development in the country.
He inaugurated the 17th International Industrial Trade Fair and Cottage Industry Festival, 2081 BS on Thursday in Kathmandu. On the occasion, President Paudel mentioned the government’s responsibility in fostering the growth of cottage and small industries.
Highlighting the foundational importance of small industries to the nation’s economy, President Paudel remarked, “Cottage and small industries have played a pivotal role in poverty alleviation, job creation, and economic sustainability.”
He stressed the necessity for collaborative efforts between the government and entrepreneurs to address key challenges such as access to capital, availability of raw materials, skilled resources, competitive proficiency, and effective marketing strategies.
President Paudel emphasized that small industries, utilizing local skills, technologies, raw materials, and human resources, could significantly enhance production and productivity while promoting local labor and culture internationally, thereby ensuring the economic sustainability of communities.
and support to empower cottage and small industries, thereby fostering economic growth, job creation, and sustainable development in Nepal.
On the occasion, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Damodar Bhandari has said that it was necessary to establish an international-level sales gallery at the centre to promote the goods produced by the small and cottage industries.
Addressing the inaugural even, he expressed the commitment of the Ministry to provide the support and assistance for the construction of infrastructure required for the sales gallery.
Minister Bhandari said that small scale, cottage and women-run industries in the country have created a large number of employment opportunities, stating targeted programmes will be introduced in the upcoming budget to promote such industries.
“Potential cottage and small industries will be exempted from all kinds of taxes for a certain period of time and a special programme for capital, technology and access to such industries will be moved forward to enhance domestic production,” he added.
The Industry Minister shared that there will be no shortage of support from the State for the industrial exhibition organized by the FNCSI every year for promoting the market of industrial products produced by micro, small, cottage and women entrepreneurs at the national and international level.
Mentioning that concessional loans for women, youth and agricultural entrepreneurs will be made more effective, he said a special package programme with tax exemptions will be brought in the upcoming budget to include women and indigenous nationalities in the economic and industrial sector.
Minister Bhandari also stated that the government will give special priority to make the country’s economy self-reliant by commercializing and industrializing agriculture.
FNCSI has been organizing this fair every year for the past several years. The fair was organized with the basic slogans of “Find Nepali, Choose Nepali” and “Let’s use Nepali products, be proud of being a Nepali”.
According to FNCSI, the exhibition reflected the entrepreneurs involved in agriculture business, more than 600,000 domestic and small industries across the country. Entrepreneurs, technology users from all provinces and districts of Nepal and also from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other SAARC countries and China have participate in the exhibition.
FNCSI, the umbrella organisation of micro, cottage and small industries, has been organising industrial exhibitions regularly at the national, provincial and district levels for a long time to address such aspects and to learn from each other and share knowledge and skills.
In the fair, wood-stone-metal art, ceramics, decorative items made of bamboo, carpets, pashmina items and other woolen fabrics, products made from jute and other traditional processed natural fiber items, latest techniques, Nepali handmade paper, traditional handicraft items, organic honey, agriculture and forestry-based products, among others were displayed. Allo made fabrics, varieties of honey, handicrafts and garments were the dominating products exhibited in the fair.
