Lucknow, May 13 (KNN) Uttar Pradesh MSME minister Sidharth Nath Singh has said the government will allow operation of Transport Delivery Offices and consumables required for the maintenance of plant and machinery so that the industries can run without any hindrance amid lockdown or curfew.

The minister was speaking at an online meeting on Wednesday, which was organized under the chairmanship of Satish Mahana, Minister of Industrial Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh. The main objective of the meeting was to discuss the current state of industries during COVID Pandemic.

After an interaction between the representatives of Indian Industries Association (IIA) and state MSME minister asked industries to issue passes for transportation on their letterheads and assured them that no one will be stopped anywhere. 

“To encourage the medical sector, the government is working on a sector-specific policy which will provide subsidies and incentives to promote MSMEs in the field. The policy will be announced shortly,” Mahana said.

During the meeting, the ministers and IIA also discussed the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector.

National senior vice president of IIA, Manmohan Agrawal, spoke about the various problems being faced by the industry. He said bills related to UPSIDA and power bills should be deferred for at least six months.

''Due to the problem of liquidity, it would help MSMEs tremendously if UPSIDA and DIC convert industrial leasehold land into freehold so that entrepreneurs with spare or unused land can dispose it of. EMI dues can also be deferred for a year to reduce financial burden on MSMEs while a one-year moratorium on interest should also be introduced,” Agarwal added.