Punjab CM Mann bats for incentives, subsidies on par with hill states

Punjab needs subsidies and incentives on a par with hill states because it is a border state, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann told NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Suman Bery here today. Bery conceded that Punjab had a huge opportunity to excel in the MSME sector and that the Centre was committed to nurturing its growth.

In the first-ever interaction between the Punjab Government and NITI Aayog, local businessmen participated and spoke about their challenges, including high transportation costs from factory to ports in Gujarat and Maharashtra, lack of freight equalisation subsidy as well as the high cost and erratic supply of power.

Gautam Kapoor, Chairman, Northern Exporters Forum, said, “One of the major issues that haunts Punjab MSMEs is lack of resources. While we have the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme for new machinery, there should be a similar scheme for old machinery also as many of the MSMEs rely on old machinery for production. In addition to this, there should be common facility centre (CFC) for hand tools.”

Describing MSMEs as the backbone of the state’s economy, the Chief Minister said that government and MSMEs would have to come together and work as a team for exponential growth of the state. The Chief Minister said that sectors such as tractors and auto components, bicycle and bicycle parts, hosiery, agro and food processing, agricultural implements have the biggest share in the state’s exports. Suman Bery admitted that MSMEs often struggle to secure the funding they need to expand and innovate. The shortage of skilled labour is a persistent issue, particularly in sectors like textiles and hand tools.

“Through focussed session with industry stakeholders, our aim is to drive deep into the potential of sectors such as hand tools, textiles and apparel, sports goods and leather sector. Together, we will identify critical growth areas, necessary policy support measures and capacity building essential for MSMEs,” said the NITI Aayog vice-chairman.

Sanjeet Singh, Senior Adviser, NITI Aayog, said, “It is essential that we strengthen collaboration between industry stakeholders and policymakers. Our government is committed to providing the necessary support.”