Industry bodies welcome Atma Nirbhar Bharat 3.0 fiscal stimulus

New Delhi, Nov 13 (KNN) Major Industry associations in India welcomed Atma Nirbhar Bharat 3.0 fiscal stimulus announced by the Union Finance Minister on Thursday.

The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had unveiled the much awaited Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 package to boost economy and made 12 new announcements on the occasion of Dhanteras.

While welcoming extension of ECLGS scheme,  Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) has thanked the Finance Minister with doing away with Ernest Money in tenders and also reducing the quantum of Performance Guarantee to 3%.

“The requirement of Ernest Money and Performance Guarantees put an enormous burden on MSMEs and limit their ability to participate in Government purchases. To get the Bank Guarantees, MSMEs have to provide margin money, fee for usance period and also collateral securities”, FISME added.     
Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA) stated “the various measures such as the EPF benefits for companies taking new employees by way of 24% EPF contribution by the government, credit guarantee support for stressed sectors, extension of the emergency credit line scheme until march 2021, added to the performance linked incentives, announced yesterday should hopefully pull the economy, which is limping along, out of the woods.”

KASSIA also welcome the proposed additional public expenditure of Rs. 10,000 crores aimed at strengthening the industrial infrastructure and allocation of 3000 crores to Exim Bank for providing lines of credit to stimulate exports.

Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Dr A Sakthivel said "Both extension of ECLGS till the end of the current fiscal and increase in outstanding credit limit have been our demand and we thank the government for the comprehensive relief. This will go a long way in propping up many of the struggling industries.

"The government has taken several measures including key structural reforms since the outbreak of coronavirus which will increase investments, strengthen the manufacturing prowess of the country and generate employment for the youth," Dr Sakthivel said.

He also thanked the government for the provision of Rs 3,000 crore to EXIM Bank and for the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana, which promises to bear both employee' and employers' EPFO contributions for new employees in firms with less than 1,000 employees and employee contribution in case of more than 1,000 employees.