Creation of a Green Fund (Environment Fund) mooted : Dr. J.D. Agarwal

Prof. J.D. Agarwal, Professor of Finance and Chairman, Indian Institute of Finance, while delivering a key note speech at WASME (World Association of Small and Medium Enterprises) & 21st International Conference on Small and Medium Enterprises (ICSME) today, mooted creation of a Green Fund (Environment Fund) by Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The fund is to be created jointly by SME and the government as a proportion of Equity or out of profits and Grants from the Government. The governments should facilitate creation of such Green fund to maintain Ecology and Environment. According to Dr. Agarwal, degradation of environment and ecology may result into extinction of civilization or spread of diseases and unnatural deaths.

Prof. Agarwal was delivering a keynote speech on Green Finance for SMEs : Sustainable Financial Development in Session II of the Conference in Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, Delhi. Shri Shiv Pratap Shukla, Honble Minister of State, Ministry of Finance, Government of India was Chief guest in the Session. Other Speakers included Mr. Dumisani J Msibi; Shri S.P. Singh; Mr. Tushar Pandey and Dr. L.C. Sharma.

Prof. Agarwal while delivering his keynote speech highlighted the contribution of SMEs enumerating data with respect to their number; their share in industrial units at 95%; employment to work force at about 40%; their share in exports at around 40% and their share in total Manufacturing output at around 45%. According to Prof. Agarwal, SMEs are the backbone of Indian Economy .

Dr. Agarwal stated that there is a need for US $ 3000 billion in industry as Green finance. He emphasized that the use of various natural resources including energy, raw materials, water, land, biogas, air and capital and labor should be effectively utilized. There should be effective mechanism of managing waste, environment and controlling pollution. He highlighted the existing financial eco system consisting of banks, mobile wallets, micro finance institutions, INGOS & NGOs, Money Transfer organizations and retailers & merchants and Government departments. However he focused that SME should create internal resources by setting aside a part of profit as reserves.
For maintaining sustainability, SMEs and actually all business enterprises should save costs by monitoring environment, energy and water and be particularly careful that there is no degradation of environment due to construction, operations, maintenance, air and water pollution. He highlighted that there is a need for solid waste management.

Speaking on sustainable financial development, he appreciated UNEP / United Nation initiative taken in 1992 to encourage financial institutions to fullfil their role for sustainable world. He reiterated that both the government and private enterprises including SMEs should be conscious of sustainable financial development by creating a Green Fund (Environment Fund) jointly by business enterprises and the government.

He cautioned that economic growth is the biggest destroyer of ecology and environment. Society may collapse due to population, climate, water, agriculture and energy . He opined that there is a need to focus on economic development simultaneously with a focus on economic growth by paying equal attention to UN millennium goals.

The International Conference was earlier inaugurated and addressed by Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, Honble Vice President of India and Shri Suresh Prabhu, Honble Minister of Commerce and Industry, Government of India was the Guest of Honour. The conference was also addressed by Mr. Alhaji Babale Umaru Girei, President, WASME; Mr. Soomilduth Bholah, Honble Minister of Business, Enterprises and Cooperative, Government of Mauritius; Mr. Amir Hossain Amu, Honble Minister of Industry, Government of Bangladesh in the inaugural session.

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This release was published on openPR.