On March 5, a conference organized by various Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises ( MSME ) associations was held in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, where attendees demanded that the union and state governments safeguard industries from stagnation and loss.
The ‘Protect MSME’ conference urged the Centre to revise the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to reduce the burden on small-scale industries. It called for amendments in the MSME Act, 2006, such as creating a separate funding package for domestic small and medium enterprises. The conference also requested the implementation of the U K Sinha Committee recommendations and asked to ease bank loan requirements and facilitate technology research.
Around 1,000 people, including MSME entrepreneurs and workers, attended the conference. Office bearers of 15 associations of industries such as spinning mills, powerloom, compressor, coir, plantations, plumbing, and others highlighted their issues and placed their demands.
Coimbatore Member of Parliament, P R Natarajan, gave the welcome address, and Tamil Nadu MSME Minister T M Anbarasan and Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeev addressed the gathering. Tamil Nadu CITU President A Soundararajan made the concluding remarks.
The conference criticized the Union government for being friendly towards big corporations and inconsiderate towards MSMEs. The Modi government’s policies have severely affected MSME industries, which provide 92% of work in the country.
Various state-specific demands were also highlighted. The conference noted that the textile, powerloom, vessels, and poultry farms industries in Tirupur are in crisis, and more than eight lakh employees are facing the brunt of it. Tamil Nadu is leading in coconut production, and the conference urged the state to improve production and boost allied industries.
Furthermore, Tamil Nadu is competing with Gujarat in pump set production, so the conference urged the state to facilitate the industry for better performance. There are rubber, tea, coffee, and other plantations in the state, but there is no welfare board overseeing them. Hence, the conference demanded the state to form a Directorate of Plantations.
The conference concluded with the ‘Boost MSME’ slogan, highlighting that small investments in MSME would provide more employment than investments in big companies.
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