MSME Minister of State Pratap Chandra Sarangi urges banks to be reasonable towards traders and entrepreneurs
Sarangi's statement comes a few months after state commercial banks in Odisha were instructed to speed up sanctioning and disbursement of loans to MSMEs against pending loan applications by the end of February 2019.
Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Minister of State for MSME
Newly-appointed Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Pratap Chandra Sarangi, while addressing the MSME Meet 2019 in Bhubaneswar urged banks to be "reasonable towards genuine traders and entrepreneurs who ease government’s effort on employment and job creation."
Media reports quoted the minister saying:
“There are many genuine businessmen who provide thousands of jobs and livelihood to people. Few traders need time to repay their debts. Banks should cooperate with genuine traders who must be allowed to take time if they have already repaid large part of their total debt."
Sarangi's statement comes a few months after LN Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary, MSME, instructed state commercial banks in Odisha to speed up sanctioning and disbursement of loans to MSMEs against pending loan applications by the end of February 2019. The instructions were passed on to bankers at a sub-committee meeting of the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) on MSMEs.
At the MSME Meet 2019, Sarangi urged MSME Meet 2019's organising body Odisha Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (OASME) to arrange programmes in several areas in the state and provide a helping hand to the youth, in order fulfill their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs.
He also stressed on the importance of the MSME sector, explaining that the contribution of MSME industry in manufacturing is 45 percent, in export is 20 percent, and in GDP is 28 percent.
“This the second largest sector after agriculture in terms of job creation. If the MSME sector suffers, it will directly impact the economy of the country,” he said.
Dibya Shankar Mishra, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Energy, Industries, and MSME was also present and demanded that the Centre should announce a special package for cyclone Fani-affected industries in Odisha.
He added, "The government has planned two SME clusters in the state, including one at Kesinga in western Odisha. The clusters will be operational soon."
The two-day MSME Meet 2019 in Bhubaneswar focussed on the topic ‘Exports of Engineering Products - Future of Odisha’s Engineering Industries and Role of Innovation," and featured sessions by Union MSME Secretary Arun Panda, Nalco CMD Tapan Chand, and OASME Chairman Gauri Sankar Mishra.
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