CII online facility a one-stop shop to address credit needs of MSMEs

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 5

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organised a session to make members of the local industry aware about its online SME Finance Facilitation Centre (CII FFC) here today.

Briefing members about the initiative, Sandeep Jain, Chairman, CII Punjab State Council, and executive director, Monte Carlo Fashions Limited, said, “The centre provides advisory and credit facilitation support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It is operating as a one-stop shop to address all credit-related requirements wherein SMEs can access credit facilitation on the click of a button. The centre has processed credit proposals of more than Rs 550 crore so far.”

“Apart from addressing financing needs, the centre has also started an online academy to educate SMEs on financial management, credit rating, costing, project management etc. The centre has also been providing its inputs to the RBI Standing Advisory Committee on SME financing,” he added.

Complimenting CII on the initiative, Kamal Jit Chaudhary, Chief Commissioner and Principal Commissioner, Central Excise and Service Tax Commissionerate, Ludhiana, said, “Emerging circumstances demand a paradigm shift in micro, small and medium enterprises’ (MSMEs) approach towards business. Keeping in view the growth opportunities and the business risks, our enterprises need to grow into larger enterprises and gain a larger share of global markets in their respective domains.”

Tanu Kashyap, Director, Industries and Commerce, Government of Punjab, who was the guest of honour on the occasion, said the state government had set up a SME facilitation council to help settle claims, adding that so far, the council had settled claims of Rs 95 crore.

Amit Thapar, Chairman, CII Ludhiana Zonal Council, and president, Ganga Acrowools, said the MSMEs were the strength of the Indian economy and the backbone of the manufacturing sector. With continued support from the government and revamping of the credit schemes as per the needs of the industrial sector, it was indeed one of the best times for the industry to grow in this country, particularly in Punjab, where out of the total number of industries, nearly 70 per cent were MSMEs.