The Union Budget announcements are expected in the next few weeks and industries here hope there will be measures that will revive the manufacturing sector.
According to industry representatives, one focus area that will give a fillip to local industries is better infrastructure.
“We need a road map on power supply and affordable interest rates,” says T. Rajkumar, chairman of Southern India Mills’ Association. “Local industries need good power supply and better infrastructure,” adds V. Lakshminarayanaswamy, president of Southern India Engineering Manufacturers’ Association.
When it comes to infrastructure, only the Centre can ensure better air connectivity, National Highways roads and more trains to other cities from Coimbatore, says D. Nandakumar, president of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore.
Major issues
Shortage in power availability and cost of power are major issues for industries here and though the supply has improved, there should be a roadmap on power supply to industries, they say.
The other major demand for the industries here is implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST). There are several taxes and these should be brought down, says Mr. Rajkumar.
MSMEs
Banks need to give priority to Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in lending as these units have seasonal business. Similarly, single window clearance should be provided to MSMEs, says Mr. Lakshminarayanaswamy.
The Union Government has been speaking of measures to boost the manufacturing sector. These are some of the initiatives that will help the sector, he says.
For the textile units, the main demands are from the Foreign Trade Policy. The policy should be announced first.
The budget should provide Rs. 3,000 crore additional allocation to Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme, remove Excise Duty on shuttleless looms, address the policy anomalies and reduce the duty on synthetic fibre, says Mr. Rajkumar.
Though industries across sectors are facing a slowdown in orders, they are hopeful of revival soon. Be it domestic demand for pumpsets or export orders for cotton yarn, the industry representatives feel market will start improving shortly.
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