New Delhi, Dec 23 (KNN) The finance ministry informed the lower house that it has been able to initiative several steps to ensure loans for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country , however the situation when it comes to reality is different as MSMEs continue to face the issue of credit crunch, Indian Industries association informed.

Talking to KNN, Sunil Vaish, President of MSME body Indian Industries Association (IIA) said that the actual situation on ground is very different from what the government projects, especially when it comes to the MSME sector.

Vaish said that the flow of funds for the MSME sector still continues to be a big issue.

“The banks are not very open to credit the MSMEs, while the government has instructed the banks to make sure steady credit for the sector, it is not very much being implemented”, he said.

Explaining the concern further, Vaish said that the MSMEs are usually a one man show and it is not possible for the entrepreneur to have very bright balance sheets and trade ratio, as a result the banks don’t entertain the MSMEs.

Whereas for a large enterprise, they have dedicated team in place to look after it

Commenting over the NPAs, Vaish said that the MSMEs share in the total NPAs is not much as compared to the large enterprises in terms of monetary value, yet the credit agencies aren’t open for MSMEs.

Vaish made these remarks responding to the recent information shared by Shiv Pratap Shukla, Minister of State for Finance in Lok Sabha highlighting the steps taken to provide easy credit to MSMEs.

Vaish however said that the schemes that the government rolls out look good, even the notifications are sound for the MSMEs, but when it comes to deliver result, it is not able to since there is no proper implementation.

Suggesting demand in the upcoming budget, Vaish said that his association has made representations to the finance ministry to consider lower interest rate loans and easier access to credit to the MSME sector. (KNN/DA)