Small industries seek loans, subsidy to get back on track

Coimbatore: Crippled by a severe fund crunch due to the lockdown, representatives of micro and small industries from the district have sought feasible loans, an extension on moratorium and subsidy support to get back on their feet.
The representatives on Tuesday said the Centre’s Rs 3lakh crore relief package for MSMEs would not directly benefit them as there were no delineation of funds for them. The Centre should allot funds exclusively for micro and small industries, apart from providing a subsidy of Rs 1lakh relief fund for each micro and small units, the representatives said.
A total of 19 micro and small industries have come together as 'Coimbatore Industrial Associations Forum' to highlight their issues to the state and central governments. At their maiden meeting on Tuesday, representatives said the Centre should allot 90% of the relief package funds for MSMEs to micro and small units.
J James, district president of Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Tiny Enterprises (TACT), a representative of the federation, said the interest rate for loans promised by the Centre should be brought down from 9.25% to 6%. “Banks should provide micro and small units with interest-free loans from Rs 2lakh to Rs 10lakh without any collateral. Interest for pending loans should be waived off for a year.”
Apart from this, the federation has called for slashing GST for micro and small units to 5%, and have requested that the Centre return the penalty amount they had paid for delay in paying GST in the past one year.
The federation said PSUs and private firms, which normally take upto 110 days to release payments to micro and small units, should be asked to clear payments in 45 days, apart from clearing pending payments till March 31 immediately.
The federation also sought that the Centre put on hold its reclassification of micro and small units based on investment and turnover.
To the state government, the federation has requested that power tariff from March to June be waived off.
Micro and small industry associatios such as Coimbatore Sidco Industrial Estate Manufacturers Welfare Association (Cosiema), Coimbatore Tiny and Small Foundry Owners Association (Cosmafan), Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Tiny Enterprises (TACT), Railway Suppliers Association and Coimbatore Wetgrinders and Accessories Manufacturers Association (Cowma), among others, are part of the federation.