The government on Monday told the Rajya Sabha that the number of incubation centres to cater to MSME centres in the country in on the rise.
In a written reply Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma said that as per the information provided by NITI Aayog, there has been a rise of Atal Incubation Centres (AIC), from 13 in 2017 to 69 in 2022.
The minister was replying to queries of member Kartikeya Sharma. He asked whether the number of incubation centres is increasing rapidly in the nation. He also wanted to know the number of youths who earned employment in those incubation centres during the past 3 years.
The minister said the government is implementing MSME innovative scheme under the Champions Scheme of MSME for developing and nurturing ideas, which are launched in 2022.
A total number of 632 Host Institutes have been recognized under this Incubation component to perform as the Business Incubators ever since the scheme is launched.
As per the official document, the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), in the last 5 years has established a total number of 56 Atal Incubation Centres along with 14 Atal Community Innovation Centres across the nation.
Niti Aayog says a total of 3052 start-ups have been incubated so far. Of them, around 954 are women-led. So far, these start-ups have managed to generate approximate 15,506 jobs across the nation
This comprises CBG, ethanol, and other compressed biogas.
This is available all through the country, he said, adding that three retail outlets (ROs) are currently selling compressed biogas (CBG)—a type of biofuel—in Haryana.
In a written reply in the Upper House, the minister also said that the expansion of the retail outlet network across the country is a continuous process to ensure adequate availability of transportation fuels.
Kartikeya Sharma asked about the current production of Jatropha in the country and if there is any alternatives to Jatropha for producing biofuel.
The minister responded that according to the Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA), India can produce about 11–15 lakh tonnes of non-edible oil for industrial uses, including biodiesel manufacturing, from Tree Borne Oilseeds (TBOs) which also include Jatropha.
The government has been implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, National Food Security Mission—Oilseeds & Oil Palm (NFSM-OS&OP) from 2018–19 to augment the availability of vegetable oils and reduce the import of edible oils by increasing the production and productivity of oilseeds and expanding the area of oil palm and TBOs, including Jatropha.
The NFSM-TBOs are being implemented through State Department of Agriculture/Horticulture in eight states during 2022–23. Further, the National Policy on Biofuel 2018 encourages Gram Panchayats and Talukas to use waste land for plantations of non-edible oil seeds, including jatropha.
Jatropha is classified as “non-edible oil seed” and is a potential domestic raw material for the production of biodiesel. As per the National Policy on Biofuels 2018 and its subsequent amendment dated June 15, 2022, the potential alternatives to jatropha for producing biofuel (biodiesel) in the country are non-edible oilseeds, used Cooking Oil (UCO).
