MSMEs call for increased budgetary provision for sector

The Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) have appraised the State Finance department about the need to make a substantial increase in support to the industries in the upcoming Budget for 2025-26 to meet government commitments to MSMEs that have and will come up under the Year of Enterprises Campaign, for supporting private industrial parks and the mission to convert 1,000 identified enterprises into ₹100 crore companies each.

In a meeting with the Finance Minister, leaders of the Kerala State Small Industries Association (KSSA) said that Kerala had made great progress in prompting new enterprises to be launched. The upcoming and already established new enterprises will require financial support. Besides, the move to set up 100 private industrial estates will require a support of at least ₹300 crore. The Mission 1,000 will need budgetary support of ₹2,000 crore.

The KSSA also said at least another ₹5,000 crore more would have to be provided in the budget to support the MSME sector as a whole, said a pre-budget memorandum submitted to the Finance Minister. There should also be sufficient funds to pay the subsidies on loans in time to avoid penal interest and other bank actions, they added.

They have also demanded the type of support extended to large industries be made available to small industries considering their importance to the economy and appealed to the government to do away with the limit imposed on financial support to private industrial parks from the current level of ₹3 crore.

The industrialists are also of the opinion that the government must bring about legal provisions to protect existing enterprises against unfounded complaints. The government can also take steps to collectively procure and distribute raw materials in a mark of support to the industries, the memorandum added. This is needed in view of the fact that there has been a constant shortage of raw materials like cement, sand, iron and aluminium.

The KSSA also appealed to the government to increase investments in infrastructure to help develop tourism industry. The use of fallow of land, which has not come under cultivation, for industrial purposes should be permitted. Besides, the association said that the government should take the lead in removing the sediments in rivers and distribute the sand dredged from the rivers.