Relief to MSME Sector & Attracting Foreign Investments

By Nitin Gadkari Minister of MSMEs and Road & Transport   Government is with all businessmen and MSMEs. The banks have already restructured 6 lakh MSMEs loans and we are giving permission to them up to December 31. We are expecting that they can complete the restructuring of up to 25 lakh MSMEs loans. At the same time 3 months deferred payment is there and additional working capital of 20 percent is also sanctioned. Now the national highway road construction has also started and at the same time banking operations are going on and we are trying to start small scale industries also. In Nagpur State Bank of India has released additional working capital. In the whole country the process is going on. But, there isn’t enough room available for the government to provide any big-ticket relief. So, MSMEs should be happy with the working capital extensions that they are being given with the moratorium that is being given.  I am expecting that there will be a large package declared by the government. However, all type of loans which banks are giving the MSMEs, they are secured and they are insured. At the same time banks are also being liberal. Moreover, Indian entrepreneurs can make use of the opportunity of businesses moving out of China. To support this, we are planning to make industrial clusters, logistic parks which are connected to ports, airports and railway stations. The most important thing is the land acquisition cost is coming to Rs 10-15 lakh per acre. There is centralization of industry into Noida, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Bangalore and this is the time that 115 aspirant district and the rural agriculture tribal areas can build on utilizing forest based raw materials. Government has appointed a special joint secretary to coordination with the state governments and all foreign companies which want to invest in India to give all type of clearances within 3 months, providing time-bound decision-making process and a friendly development and investment environment.  Already, in infrastructure 100 percent foreign investment is possible and government is developing good infrastructure - water, power, transport and communication - four important things which are very important for industry. In fact, infrastructure spending will be big part of the government’s strategy.  We are trying to complete the projects worth more than Rs 15 lakh crore. We have 480 projects which are economically viable by considering the land acquisition cost also. RBI has already given us a permission for 30 years for financing for infrastructure. For the first time government is seriously thinking on getting more insurance funds, pension funds and particularly the funds in foreign exchange from abroad. We are going to appoint a special agency to look after foreign investment. NHAIs reputation is very good, our track record is very good, and our projects are economically viable, internal rate of return is good, traffic density is good and on the basis of that 100 percent we will get the foreign investment and we will complete our target.