CHENNAI: Nearly 60 per cent of all dues owed by Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) were cleared by last November, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday. Addressing the media in the city on the sidelines of an event, the minister said Centre had found that several private companies also had a lot of dues for goods and services that were delivered by the MSMEs.
Sitharaman also assured that Tamil Nadu would soon get its share of GST in two installments. “We have no plans to cut funds for states. We are abiding by the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, and will fully honour the report of 15th Finance Commission,” she said. Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar added that regular meetings are taking place to ensure that MSMEs get their dues from PSUs.
“We have launched a Samadhan Portal, through which the MSMEs can post their grievances,” he said, adding that there is another digital portal that will be launched in April to voice concerns. Commenting on LIC’s listing, she stated that no percentage was yet decided on the listing of LIC.
FM: We will ensure transparency in management
“But we will ensure that there is transparency and discipline in terms of management when the public is involved. She said that it might be a very small percent of the company that will be listed.” Answering a question on the lukewarm collection of GST, she said: “There was a dip in collection in between, but the government has collected over `1 lakh crore in the last three months.” She further said: “MSMEs can complain to the finance ministry if banks deny loans without reason,” she said. To ensure small business have access to capital, the FM said a special cell will soon be created to address the concerns of MSMES.