A slew of measures announced by the State government recently will give the much-need fillip to the MSME sector in Tamil Nadu, said TM Anbarasan, State Minister for Rural Industries.

“The recent price reduction for land in the SIDCO industrial estates is one of the big steps by the State government. We hope all those land that have been vacant for long will be sold out in quick time. Also, action is being taken to issue pattas (to allottees) for 3,600 acres in industrial estates, he said while addressing the inaugural session of ACMEE 2021, 14th edition of biennial exhibition on machine tools technology, organised by Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturers’ Association (AIEMA).

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Also, lending institutions such as TAICO Bank (Tamilnadu Industrial Co-op. Bank Ltd) have been given mandate to lend more to MSMEs. “Earlier, they were giving more jewel and housing loans. Now they have been told to extend about 75 per cent of their loans to MSMEs,” he added.

Only on Wednesday, The Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation Ltd (TIIC), signed up with TAICO Bank for co-lending activities to facilitate the MSMEs in the State in getting working capital along with term loans for fixed asset creation.

State Industry Minister Thangam Thennarasu said that “smart work will deliver much more than hard work” and hence the chosen theme of ‘Smart Manufacturing’ was apt in the current context. He urged the MSMEs to adopt Industry 4.0 concepts for future growth.

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He also acknowledged the role of MSMEs in Tamil Nadu saying that MSMEs played a vital role in making the State the second largest economy in the country. Even large industries will require a strong MSME ecosystem and both should go hand-in-hand. The State government will extend all possible support to MSMEs as they are the ones that create jobs for poor, ordinary citizens and rural people, he added.

“ACMEE 2021 is focusing on production technology that is relevant to MSMEs. We believe this event will provide a jumpstart to our economy that is still recovering from the impact of the pandemic, said AM Gireeshan, President of AIEMA.

The event, being held up to December 13, is seeing participation of more than 400 companies, including foreign firms. The exhibition is expected to generate business transactions worth ₹500 crore.

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