MSME Council seeks 50% reservation of industrial sites

Comprehensive policy sought to revive sick and closed units

The MSME Council said that of the thousands of MSME units in the State, over 20% have closed down.

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Council in the city has sought 50% reservation of industrial sites developed by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Authority (KIADB).

The council has claimed that MSME units did not entail high investment and was key to drive industrial production and create jobs. The council members submitted a memorandum to MSME Director Ziyaullah during his recent visit to the city and drew his attention to the revised policy of the State government as per which the industrial site reserved for MSMEs have been decreased from 20% to 10%.

Council president Ravi Koti and secretary Suresh Kumar Jain said MSMEs tend to act as ancillary units to major industries and provide jobs for the local people and hence should be encouraged. The council sought additional government support and pointed out that of the thousands of MSME units in the State, more than 20% have closed down. Hardly 40% were functional.

The MSME Director was urged to formulate a revised and a comprehensive policy to revive the sick and the closed units. Mr. Jain said though Karnataka was one of the first States in the country to have formulated a policy to revive the fortunes of MSMEs way back in 2003, it had failed due to lack of proper implementation.

However, the council welcomed the government measure to extend loan at a subsidised interest of 4% for advances from the Karnataka State Financial Corporation (KSFC).

But it was pointed out that small and medium enterprises find it difficult to procure loan from KSFC without collateral and hence wanted the same scheme to be implemented through SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India) or other national banks so as to benefit the entrepreneurs.

Raising issues specific to Mysuru, the council sought the Directorate’s intervention with the Mysuru City Corporation for a downward revision in the water tariff. “The MSMEs should be supplied water at a subsidised rate and should not be levied commercial slab and the government should constitute a body on the lines of KERC (Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission) to fix the rates,” said the council members.