Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has disbursed nearly ₹513 crore to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) towards the second instalment of financial assistance under the ReSTART scheme on Monday.
A sum of ₹450 crore was paid out in May to help MSMEs to overcome the crisis precipitated by the lockdown.
On the occasion, Mr. Reddy said there were 97,428 MSMEs in the State which provided employment to about 10 lakh people. While the vagaries of the market put them to a lot of trouble, the lockdown pushed them to the verge of bankruptcy.
The TDP Government owed approximately ₹800 crore to MSMEs in subsidies.
The present government cleared these dues and waived fixed power charges for three months amounting to ₹188 crore. Besides, working capital loans were provided in the ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh range at 6% to 8% interest.
A six-month moratorium was given on loan repayment and the dues could be cleared within three years.
In another significant initiative, it was decided to procure about 360 types of goods and other materials required by the government, from the MSMEs.
A bail-out package was being planned for spinning mills which were steeped in losses.
The Chief Minister said it was contemplated to appoint Joint Collectors for exclusively taking care of the requirements of MSMEs and exuded confidence that the support extended to them (MSEMs) would enhance the government's credibility.
