The economic package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday has failed to enthuse the Micro, Small and Mini Enterprises (MSME) in Tamil Nadu which directly employs 1.3 crore workers in the State. There are 20 lakh such units spread out in Chennai, Tiruchi, Coimbatore, Tirupur and Erode districts.
“None of the announcements made by the Finance Minister would help us,” said S Vasudevan, joint secretary, Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association (TANSTIA), the apex body of MSME units in the State.
“The only concession which we have received is the announcement by the Union Minister that the pending payments from Government would be cleared in 45 days. There is no mention about the interest waiver on loans during the lockdown period which the industrial units were looking for,” said Vasudevan who is also the spokesman of the TANSTIA. “It was a big disappointment for us. We had sent many representations and appeals but we deeply regret the same have not been considered. We request our PM to intervene and help the MSME sector with suitable relief measures,” said the TANSTIA leader.
But B Radhakrishnan, general secretary, Laghu Udyog Bharati Kerala unit was all praise for the announcements made by Sitharaman. “There are many concessions which have been granted. The Government’s move to allocate Rs 3 lakh crore for the MSME will go along way in addressing the problems faced by the sector. We had requested the Minister to allocate Rs 5 lakh crore but the fact that she has kept apart more than half of what we had asked for is a positive sign. It is difficult to please one and all.
There are certain misconceptions regarding MUDRA yojana among the people. They approach the Banks with request for loans but without any concrete proposals and the Banks deny the loans. We cannot blame the Banks,” said Radhakrishnan who heads LUB , a Sangh sponsored body for small and mini industrial units in the country.