New Delhi, Sept 16 (KNN) Highlighting the support extended by the state government to the Micro, Small  and Medium  Enterprises (MSMEs) in Odisha, State CM Naveen Patnaik recently said that the government has sanctioned over Rs 80 crores to the sector in the form of incentives.

However, the MSMEs of the region feel further handholding is required to help the sector.

Talking to KNN, Rajen Padhi, Director General of Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Odisha informed that though the support from the government have been good in the past years, the sector still has issues which needs to be addressed.

Listing the problems surrounding the MSME sector of the state, Padhi said that the prime concern for the sector is with reference to the credit flow.

“The banks are still not very willing to come up and credit the MSME sector, because of which the tiny and micro units grow at snail pace, the government must explore ways in improving the flow of credit to the sector” he said.

He acknowledged that the government is proactive towards the sector in terms of incentives.

Commenting upon the GST and the impact of it on the MSMEs, Padhi informed that as of now it is too early to conclude on the implications, because of a lot of operational issues still underway.He informed that he is hopeful that by the end of December the GST wouldn’t be remaining alien to the taxpayers and things might ease up.

Padhi made these comments responding to the statement by the Odisha CM that the state government has helped over 973 MSME units in the state via incentives of Rs 80.50 crore, generating employment to nearly 22,200 persons. (KNN/ DA)