Acknowledging the challenges faced by the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) — the backbone for other industries — Tamil Nadu Minister for MSMEs and Rural Industries T.M. Anbarasan in an interview says the government is taking steps to address the needs of the sector. Excerpts:
Since 2015, the sector is bleeding with one crisis after another — the Chennai floods, Cyclone Vardah, demonetisation, the GST roll-out and now the COVID-19 pandemic. What has the DMK government done to help the sector?
Indeed, we are aware of the challenges faced by the sector. After the DMK took over we held discussions with industrialists. During the COVID-19 lockdown, we ensured there was no disruption to the MSMEs and to help them sustain production, 60% of the capital subsidy was released in a single instalment in June 2021. Around ₹221.72 crore has been disbursed to 2,426 MSMEs. We also set up an expert committee, headed by N. Sundaradevan, to study the challenges of these units. The committee is in the final stages of preparing the report. You will see a lot of new announcements over the next few months.
