BHUBANESWAR: Small and medium enterprises of the State have demanded the Centre to constitute a special corpus fund for assisting MSME non-performing assets resolution besides easy and hassle-free flow of credit to overcome the slowdown the sector is going through.
North Odisha Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI), the largest industry body in the northern region comprising Balasore, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Jajpur districts, has urged Union Minister of State for MSME Pratap Chandra Sarangi to take a step for a special corpus of Rs 20,000 crore.
Stating that a number of MSME units are turning sick and around 10 per cent of the sick units may be potentially viable for revival with the restructuring of debt, the association members suggested that the corpus fund can be used for rehabilitating the units.
During a recent interaction with the Minister, they said the fund will not only bridge finance to overcome NPA but also strengthen the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) framework for easy availability of collateral-free funds to the sector.
NOCCI president S K Khetan said the Centre should also ensure that the banks are following RBI directives in letter and spirit to provide a simpler and faster mechanism to address the stress in the accounts of MSMEs.
“At present, the RBI does not entertain complaints about banks flouting norms on credit resolution. The Government should shield reviving sick units from draconian Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest Act or Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and advise the States to take part in the committees of different banks for MSME in a much assertive manner,” he suggested.
Since the MSMEs can drive the growth of the economy, the industry body said the existing successful units should be provided with all incentives as new units if they scale up and there should be one grievance redressal mechanism at the national level for all MSMEs.
Convenor of NOCCI Amit Behera said MSMEs are still running from pillar to post for small matters which often remain pending at different offices for months for silly reasons.
A grievance handling mechanism on the line of Project Monitoring Group (PMG) of Prime Minister Office is the need of the hour under the facilitation of the MSME Ministry, he added.
The association said they need real ease of doing business to keep their attention on production and marketing instead of on unnecessary compliances.
Published On : 18-11-2019
Source : The New Indian Express
