Maharashtra may soon give a three-month electricity duty waiver to small businesses. After the announcement by the Centre to roll out economic packages for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Maharashtra, India’s most industrialised state, is planning to roll out further measures to protect and restore the sector in the state.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray allegedly plans to announce a three-month waiver of fixed monthly electricity charges payable by the MSMEs to cushion the economic damage caused by the lockdown. The state currently has 17 lakh registered MSME’s that provide direct and indirect employment to nearly 1.5 crore people. Of this, the manufacturing sector, among the worst hit by the lockdown, alone accounts for six lakh units.
The Centre had announced that until October 2020, MSMEs can avail an additional collateral-free automatic loan with a 10-month moratorium. It further added that an employee provident fund support scheme for three months is eligible for small businesses, besides permitting two lakh stressed units to avail subordinate debt worth Rs 20,000 crore in all.
Uddhav Thackeray after consulting the expert panel’s recommendations is also planning to bear up to five per cent interest of fresh capital loans availed by MSMEs for a one-year period. The state of Maharashtra has also taken up a proposal for protecting the wages of employees of the MSMEs. On the condition that 100 per cent staff will be retained on existing salaries. On the line of the Centre’s announcement, state departments and corporations will be directed to clear all payable of MSMEs within the next couple of months.
According to sources, Maharashtra is also planning to roll out financial assistance to the poor and vulnerable groups, which includes street vendors, drivers, electricians, domestic help and self-employed services-providers. The Centre has announced a free food grain scheme for non-ration cardholders and offered credit up to Rs 10,000 for street-side vendors.
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