PSUs like Vizag Steel Plant should handhold MSMEs: AP Panchayat Raj Minister

Visakhapatnam, Dec 10 (KNN) After inaugurating the three day MSME Expo in the city, State Panchayat Raj Minister Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu appealed the big public sector units including Visakhapatnam steel plant to extend a helping hand to local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

“The big public sector units in the city, especially Visakhapatnam steel plant, should extend a helping hand to the local MSMEs to achieve employment generation and economic progress, said Patrudu.

He was speaking in the Autonagar Industrial Estate on Friday during the three-day MSME Expo 2016, a national vendor development programme and industrial exhibition in addition to a buyer-seller meet.

Anil Reddy Vennam, President, Federation of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, told KNN that these initiatives would really help the MSMEs but small things like making payments to vendors on time etc will also benefit them.

 “Payment should come fast; this will also help the entrepreneur to move fast,” said Vennam.

The State Panchayat Minister also added that state government was helping the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant in every possible way and therefore “it is the responsibility of the RINL officials to hand-hold the local MSMEs and go to their rescue. The components required by the steel plant should be sourced locally to the extent possible. Only if it is not locally available, should they go to other states."

While appealing he also included other PSUs like Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL), BHEL-BHPV, and others to do their best to help the local MSMEs.

“There was very little help from the bigger PSU units to the local MSMEs. The PSUs were meeting the statutory requirement of sourcing 20 per cent of their needs from MSMEs but most of the MSMEs belonged to the other states and the local MSMEs were left high and dry,” said A.K Balaji, President, Visakha Autonagar Small-scale Industries' Association, and Ch. Satyanarayana, Secretary.

Supporting the cause of appeal D.Venkateswarlu, Regional Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and K.R.K Prasad, Director, MSME Institute said commercial banks were also not coming forward to give term loans or short-term loans to meet working capital needs of the MSMEs and there should be greater financial assistance. There is need of more Skill development centres in the industrial estates or in their vicinity, they pleaded. (KNN/ RAS)