Industry discusses issues with Sampla

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, January 15

Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla today interacted with industrialists where Onkar Singh Pahwa, Patron-in-chief of FICO and CMD of Avon Cycles, along with Gurmeet Singh Kular, president of FICO, put forth many issues concerning industry.

The industrialists said the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) had set March 31 as deadline but the procedure for obtaining an NOC for ground water abstraction was complex and required a lot of documentation. The industry asked the Union Minister to first simplify the procedure and then exempt the MSMEs from the NOC.

International Cooperation (IC) scheme

The International Cooperation (IC) scheme, which facilitated the industrialists’ visits to international exhibitions and conventions to upgrade themselves with the latest technology and global trends, has been suspended for two years. There is another scheme but it requires huge funds and the MSMEs cannot take benefit of the new scheme. The earlier scheme should be re-introduced to benefit the MSME sector, said the industrialists.

Credit Link Capital Subsidy Scheme

The Credit Link Capital Subsidy Scheme was aimed at facilitating technology upgrade by MSMEs by providing an upfront capital subsidy of 15 per cent (on institutional finance of up to Rs1 crore availed by them) for induction of well-established and improved technology. The Centre has suspended that scheme too. We demand that the scheme be re-introduced as it provides subsidy on the bank interest. Also, the banks should be instructed in this connection, said the industry representatives.