Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that the Government has always recognised the importance of wealth creators as they generate employment opportunities and utilise resources in an optimal manner for promoting the socio-economic development in the country. She said this while interacting with the managing committee members of PHD Chamber of Commerce and industry through video conferencing.
Sitharaman said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always facilitated a helping hand and recognised MSMEs. “We are closely monitoring the situation in consultation with banks so that relief measures announced by the Government are effectively percolated at ground levels especially the transmission of repo rate cuts to consumers in terms of reduced interest rates,” she said.
The Finance Minister stated that the government is closely watching the developments in the disbursement of loans under the provision of ₹3 lakh crore collateral-free automatic loans for businesses to mitigate the daunting impact of pandemic Covid-19 on trade and industry. “The Government has always focused on Minimum Government and Maximum Governance with a special focus on addressing challenges faced by Industry and promote ease of doing business,” said the Finance Minister.
While appreciating the significant reforms announced by the Government, D.K. Aggarwal, President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in his remarks that ₹20.97 lakh crore stimulus package is a very comprehensive, substantial and one of the largest among the packages provided by other countries in the world. Aggarwal said that the package is not only the monetary and financial stimulus, but also contains the game-changing reforms to take India to the next high.
He suggested that one-time restructuring of the loans without affecting the classification for the severely impacted sectors such as tourism, aviation, entertainment, real estate, automobile, among others is the need of the hour. Aggarwal suggested that there may be a formal communication from the Government to the banking sector to remove the fears from the minds of bankers so that the bank officials are able to sanction and disburse loans to the trade and industry without any fear.
He suggested that there may not be any criminal proceedings if some business entity turns into NPA because of some genuine reason. “There is a need for generation of demand immediately through enhanced government spending and simultaneously increase the competitiveness of domestic industry with fast track labour, legal and land reforms to make India an attractive investment destination,” said Aggarwal.
The Press Release can be accessed at: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1632656