Industry lobbies hail AP steps to aid MSMEs

VIJAYAWADA: Industry associations CII-AP and AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation on Friday welcomed the AP government’s announcement to strengthen the MSME sector, by giving nod to clear all the pending dues from government. This would help the industry to have working capital to start their operations in post lockdown scenario, a CII-AP press release said.
“CII-AP had recommended waiving off the minimum power demand charges for industry in view of lockdown in the state.The chief minister’s decision to waive off minimum power demand charges for micro, small and medium enterprises for the month of April, May and June is commendable at this critical time and will help the industry for a successful restart,” CII-AP president D. Ramakrishna said in the release.
He said the decision to provide Rs 200 crore as input capital to the firms at low-interest rates would help to ease the working capital requirements of industry which are affected due to lockdown.
“Releasing Rs 905 crore pending dues to MSMEs from 2014-15 and providing Rs 200 crore working capital loans through Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) to MSMEs with lowest interest rate will help in tiding over the adverse impact of the lockdown and ease the liquidity crunch which small companies are facing. Waiver of core minimum demand charges of power for MSMEs for the first quarter of the fiscal and deferment of fixed (minimum) electricity charges to large-scale industries for three months and the interest amount is a much needed relief at this juncture,” Sudhir Mulagada, chairman of AP Chambers’ Visakhapatnam zone said in a statement.