Addressing a gathering of traders and women at the programme organised by the TEAM CAIT Nagpur in Vidarbha Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Mor Bhavan in the city on Sunday, former Union Minister and Strategic Advisor of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) Smriti Irani said that it is a mater of pride that India is the fourth largest economy of the world. “But is it right to be satisfied staying at the fourth position? No, we should work hard to grab number one position. We must take a pledge to take the economy of the motherland to the highest peak in the world,” she said adding that country’s women are also helping the nation grow. Irani further said that, “we all are indebted to our society and family. We have to ensure that when we talk about India, our houses are lit and our economy is strong.” Highlighting the contribution of the self-help groups to the economy, Irani said women have posted an annual business of 37 billion dollars through their small industries.

 

So far these small women entrepreneurs have received support of about Rs 8 lakh crore from the Government of India. This will give strength to small industries in rural and urban areas, she added. Expressing his views, CAIT National President B C Bhartia said that to strengthen India’s economy, women will have to understand their spending habits. “We will have to try to buy as many goods as possible from indigenous producers. We should not buy goods from multi-national e-comm companies. They want to close the shops of people of Indian origin by luring them with cheap products,” he said. Bhartia further said that many schemes have been made to strengthen women economically. The Government has taken many concrete decisions to make women economically, socially and educationally capable. Women are doing exceptionally well in many areas. They should also actively participate in businesses to strengthen the economy, he added. Prominently present were Raju Jain, Deepa Pachauri, Roop Nandi, Ajay Patki of Swadeshi Jagran Manch, Dhananjay Bhide, CAIT patron Kishor Dharashivkar, Chairman Gopal Agarwal, Bhagyashree Bakne, Kishor Chhabra, Asha Pandey, Premlata Tiwari, Raju Mishra, Mahesh Kukreja, Madhusudan Trivedi, Jyoti Awasthi, Hemlata Dhuria and others.