India, Sept. 18 -- LUCKNOW Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday disbursed loans worth Rs.1.32 lakh crore for the MSME sector, distributed toolkits to 12,000 artisans under the Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana and appointment letters to 111 junior assistants on the occasion of Vishwakarma Jayanti.

"UP has the highest number of MSMEs in the country - 96 lakh units. About two crore people are directly employed in this sector, while three crore are engaged in agriculture. That is why we launched ODOP on January 24, 2018, on the state's foundation day. I am happy it has now become a model for the entire nation," he said. The CM inaugurated the two-day Vishwakarma Expo-2025 at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan here.

He announced that 12 new...