Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal’s announced loans at low interest rates to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the revised budget for the financial year 2021-22, presented on Friday.
With former Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac having presented a wide-ranging budget that laid out a road map for improving the State’s position in the ease of doing business rankings and measures to promote public sector units, Mr. Balagopal was left with little to add as far as the industrial sector was concerned in his budget speech.
An amount of ₹50 crore has been earmarked in the revised budget for the interest subvention scheme for MSMEs. Mr. Balagopal has said additional working capital and term loans will be made available to existing MSMEs at low rates. It is aimed to provide loans amounting to ₹2,000 crore. An additional ₹25 crore is provided for Entrepreneur Support Scheme currently being implemented by the Department of Industries and ₹15 crore for margin money and interest assistance scheme for nano industrial housing units project.
As part of the loan scheme for labour enterprises, loans at reduced rate will be made available to start new enterprises in agricultural, industrial, and service sectors to rejuvenate the existing non-operational enterprises. It is aimed to provide loans worth ₹1,000 crore in 2021-22.
Additional loan of 20% was sanctioned to traders in the last financial year who took loans from the Kerala Financial Corporation and repaid it in time till March 31, 2020, to recover from the COVID-19 crisis. Taking into consideration the crisis in the small-scale industries and other sectors due to the second wave of COVID-19, KFC will present a project to give additional loans of 20% again to these entrepreneurs. KFC will set apart ₹500 crore for this. Moratorium on payment of principal for one year will be given to entrepreneurs facing the crisis.
Mr. Balagopal made it clear that the government does not believe in tax collection by intimidating and coercing traders and industrialists. He has said that they will be ready to remit more tax once trade and industry regains strength. Fresh revenue sources will be explored as the economy comes back to the growth track.
