Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 27 (IANS): In a boost to the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in Kerala, state Law, and Industries & Coir Minister P. Rajeeve on Tuesday announced that an insurance scheme for the segment will be rolled out soon, with the state government bearing 50 per cent of the premium with a monetary cap.

Making the announcement while inaugurating the International MSME Day celebrations here, he also unveiled other schemes that will rev up the MSME sector considering its vital role in the state’s economic development.

“We will provide Rs 1 lakh each to 1,000 MSME ventures of more than three years of existence for preparing scaling up projects. As part of this, up to Rs 2 crore will also be given as capital investment for approved projects,” said Rajeeve.

As part of the ambitious One Local Body One Product (OLOP) project, launched during the ‘Entrepreneurship Year,’ the Department of Industries and Commerce will provide Rs. 50,000 each to Local Self Government Institutions (LSGIs) to meet the expenses for preparing the detailed project reports (DPRs).

The government also plans to institute annual awards for the best MSME unit and panchayat besides developing a software that can detect the problems being faced by MSMEs in their functional areas is also under active consideration, said the Minister.

Another scheme on the anvil is for encouraging entrepreneurship at a young age and for that a proposal to grant Campus Industrial Park status to engineering colleges having at least five acres of land at their disposal is also being considered.

Rajeeve added that the MSME sector has made the state proud through the outstanding achievement of starting around 1,39,840 ventures last year.