Industrialists’ unending wait for capital subsidy reimbursement

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 2

Industrialists continue to wait for the reimbursement of capital subsidy for border districts withheld as per the Industrial Policy 2003-2007.

The issue and others related to the industry were taken up at a meeting of the Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal (PPBM). Members of the PPBM said only 21 industrialists were to be released subsidy less than Rs 4 crore. As many as 121 textile industrialists had taken Rs 12 crore capital subsidy loan under the Industrial Policy of 2003.

They demanded increase in budgetary allocation to industry to Rs 2,500 crore, pension and medical insurance for MSME operators. The setting up of MSME Development Institute in the city catering to all border districts to boost industrialisation will ultimately generate employment and check drug menace among youth, they opined.

The MSME sector is facing multiple problems while filing the GST returns, maintaining of accounts and keeping other records. So they sought its simplification.

They regretted that the state government has not declared any textile policy since 2006. They called upon the government to follow the Gujarat pattern which announced 6 per cent of interest subsidy over and above the Central government scheme.

Upgradation of curriculum of textile courses in the ITIs and Polytechnics. Before this, they sought training of teachers on latest technologies to enable them to train the students in the right perspective.

Against the promised Rs 5 per unit power supply to the industry it was costing Rs 9.25 per unit to it. They demanded delivery of promised power tariff at the final billing stage.