The Hindu Business Line : ‘Timely, adequate credit must be extended to SMEs’

Madurai, Oct. 26 “There is no credit squeeze on us. We have planned to disburse Rs 700 crore in the remaining part of this fiscal, Rs 200 crore towards purchase of generators and the balance for other industrial projects for southern districts,” said Mr C. Umashankar, Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation (TIIC).

If adequate and timely credit is not extended in the present economic scenario, small and medium enterprises will be affected.

Coinciding with the celebration of 60 years of functioning of the corporation, an awareness campaign on credit assistance to small and medium enterprises has been initiated in the districts. Efficient officers have been placed in charge for quick disposal of loan applications and to make the process a pleasant experience for the borrowers.

Projects in pipeline

Projects worth Rs 60 crore, including windmills for Rs 30 crore, are to be cleared in the board meeting to be held on October 30. A heritage hotel project is being assisted in Madurai, he said, while addressing a press meet held at the Collectorate here.

Mr Umashankar said that the branches have been empowered to clear loans up to Rs 50 lakh and the regional offices up to Rs 1.5 crore. For higher amounts, special board meetings will be called. If the documents were clear, the loans will be cleared from 15 days to a month in the normal process. Interest subsidy for micro units and one per cent rebate in interest for prompt repayment together with favourable interest rates on loans compared to banks are attractive features.

The corporation made net profit of Rs 20 crore in the last fiscal, he added

Earlier, addressing an awareness meeting of industrialists of small and medium enterprises on credit assistance from TIIC, Mr Umashanker said that the corporation has prioritised lending of loans for generators, setting apart Rs 200 crore for the purpose together with the subsidy component. He urged them to concentrate on the viability of the projects without looking for sops from the Government, if they were to succeed. What comes from the Government in the form of subsidies should not be the prime objective in the approach and should be treated as favourable incidents to their efforts, he stressed.

He assured them of providing working capital for the success of their projects and to consider favourably the rescheduling of loans on a case basis, if the situation warranted such a step.

Bridge loans for infrastructure projects, a lower interest rate for women entrepreneurs and a permanent industrial exhibition centre for Madurai on public-private partnership model were other subjects discussed at the meeting.

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‘Timely, adequate credit must be extended to SMEs’