For the micro, cottage and small-scale units in Coimbatore, the Union Budget does not give any hope of revival, say the industry representatives here.
The Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Micro Enterprises president, J. James, has said in a release that the these industries expected announcements related to reduction in interest rate, new infrastructure facilities for the tiny units, and priority for MSMEs in defence procurements. The micro units are sick now and need measures to revive operations. However, the budget has failed to meet these expectations, he said.
S. Ravikumar, president of Coimbatore Tirupur District Micro and Cottage Entrepreneurs’ Association, has said that the budget should have allocated funds for the micro units hit by power cut and granted moratorium for repayment of loans taken by these units. The budget does not provide any measure for the growth of the micro and cottage enterprises, he said.
According to R. Nagarajan, president of Coimbatore SIDCO Industrial Estate Manufacturers’ Welfare Association, the concessional interest rate of six per cent extended to handloom weavers should be given to micro and small-scale units too. “There is no scheme mentioned in the budget to safeguard the interests of micro and tiny units,” he said. Schemes should be introduced to protect the future of small-scale units. The Government should provide capital subsidy scheme for all industries.
