CHENNAI: In a bid to bolster the growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, the State government on Thursday announced increase in plot coverage for constructing MSME units to 75 per cent across the State. A total of Rs 540.66 crore has been provided for MSME sector in the Budget.
The government said the Floor Space Index too would be appropriately increased to facilitate optimum use of the allotted space. It said the Small Industries Development Corporation (SIDCO) will construct multi-storeyed worksheds for micro units at a cost of Rs 30 crore at Ambattur Industrial Estate. Further, wherever required, the government said hostels would be constructed by SIDCO to provide accommodation at affordable cost to MSME workers and will be run on PPP mode.
The government’s flagship scheme, the New Entrepreneurship-cum-Enterprise Development Scheme (NEEDS) was allocated `100 crore to promote first generation entrepreneurs. Since its inception in 2011, as many as 4,190 first generation entrepreneurs were expected to have benefited. Under this scheme, the ceiling limit for loan will be enhanced from `1 crore to Rs 5 crore. However, the ceiling limit for subsidy will continue to be Rs 25 lakh.
Further, the government said 105 industrial estates were created to motivate the MSME sector. It said the single window portal, which is now available to large industries, is being customised for MSMEs and will be launched shortly. In addition, the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act is expected to be amended to make 25 per cent purchase preference to MSME mandatory in the procurement by government and State public sector undertakings.
The Tamil Nadu Small & Tiny Industries Association (TANSTIA) welcomed the government initiatives. “We thank the Chief Minister for taking a lot of efforts to bring Tamil Nadu the number one state in all sectors, especially small and micro sector,” the organisation said in a statement.
There are 17.20 lakh registered MSME units in Tamil Nadu. During the Global Investors Meet in 2015, a total of 10,073 Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) were signed with investors to start MSME units with an investment of `16,533 crore. Of these, the government highlighted that 5,544 enterprises with an investment of `6,280 crore have commenced their production, creating employment for 72,939 people.