Union Budget will help growth of industries in region: Industrial bodies

Coimbatore: Industrial bodies in Coimbatore said that the Union Budget for 2024-25 would help the growth of the industries in the region.President of Coimbatore District Small Scale Industries’ Association (Codissia) M Karthikeyan said the Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs in the manufacturing sector, supported by a self-financing guarantee fund, offering coverage up to Rs 100 crore was a welcome move. He also lauded the enhancement of Mudra loans up to Rs 20 lakh from existing Rs 10 lakh.President of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Coimbatore, B Sriramalu said the new centrally sponsored scheme to skill 20 lakh youth over a period of five years would go a long way in job and livelihood creation. At the same time, the chamber requested the Centre to release students’ loan interest subvention of 3% of the loan amount to help youth.Chairman of The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) SK Sundararaman said the announcement made for agriculture would benefit the cotton farmers to improve their productivity and increase the area under natural farming. This would help the textile industry, he said. He welcomed the announcement of one-month wage to new entrants in all formal sectors in three installments up to Rs 15,000.Describing the Budget as ‘all-round positive,’ the chairman of CII Coimbatore, G Radhakrishnan, said he particularly welcomed the nil import duties on scrap ferrous and nickel, which will benefit Coimbatore's foundry industry. Additionally, the reduction in import duties on gold, silver, and copper is expected to have a multiplier effect on the jewellery sector, he said.A Sakthivel, in-charge of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), Southern Regional, said the Budget was growth-oriented and would facilitate India's rapid economic progress. Reduction of customs duty from 7.5% to 5% for Spandex Yarn raw material will help the textile industry. A new mechanism was announced for facilitating the continuation of bank credit to MSMEs during their stress period.Convenor of Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF) Prabhu Dhamodharan said the new Employment-Linked Incentive (ELI) scheme will benefit labour-intensive industries like textile and apparel and this indicates the priority of our govt in job creation initiatives. Investment-ready plug-and-play industrial parks in or near 100 cities will help the industries improve their competitiveness.District president of the Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Tiny Enterprises (TACT) J James noted that the demand to reduce the bank loan interest for MSMEs to 5% was not addressed. Additionally, there was no announcement of a 15% subsidy on the purchase of machinery and equipment for MSMEs, nor was there any mention of an industrial estate for MSMEs in Coimbatore, he said.
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