Many industrialists from the Western districts, including Coimbatore and Tirupur, attended the meeting and conveyed their requests to the Chief Minister in person.
Coimbatore: The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M K Stalin participated in an Industry Interaction meeting at Coimbatore on Friday. Many industrialists from the Western districts, including Coimbatore and Tirupur, attended the meeting and conveyed their requests to the Chief Minister in person.
The Chief Minister's response to the grievances of the industrialists was that he would visit Coimbatore frequently and consult with the industry which boosted the confidence of industrialists in the city.
Karthik, President, Southern India Engineering Manufacturers' Association (SIEMA) said, "The discussion meeting held by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu with the industry today was very special. He spent two and a half hours listening to the demands of the industry.
He provided solutions to problems that could be solved immediately and assured that all other requests would be considered and action would be taken to resolve them soon. The Chief Minister's move has given hope to all the industries in the Western districts of Tamil Nadu to grow significantly," he added.
James, President, Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Micro Enterprises (TACT) and Sivakumar, President, Coimbatore Tirupur District Micro and Cottage Entrepreneurs Association (COTMA) stated that for more than a decade they had been calling for the establishment of an industrial park for small enterprises in Coimbatore district. Speaking on the issue, the TN Chief Minister and the Minister for Rural Industries, Cottage Industries, Small Industries, Slum Clearance Board, T M Anbarasan asked for help in choosing the land needed to set up the micro-hub.
The CM assured that all efforts would be made on behalf of the Government to set up a micro-enterprise on the chosen land soon. The Chief Minister also assured that the long-standing demand of small enterprises for loan assistance through TAICO Bank would be considered and action would be taken soon.
"We have set up a Central Government Committee to look into the issue of rising cotton prices, including the engineering manufacturing sector, and we urged the Central Government to take action to address the issue of raw materials. The Chief Minister assured that action will be taken in that regard too. Overall, the discussion with the Chief Minister has been very encouraging," stated the TACT and COTMA leaders.
Ravi Sam, President, Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA) and Rajkumar, President, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) stated, "The textile industry is hopeful because the Central Government has removed the 11 percent cotton import duty to help address the problem of rising cotton prices. At present, only 5 to 7 lakh cotton bales is cultivated in Tamil Nadu. The Government of Tamil Nadu is planning to increase the area under cotton cultivation to 30 lakh bales of cotton per annum.
The Chief Minister has said that steps will be taken to start a Tamil Nadu Cotton Corporation in Tamil Nadu like the Cotton Corporation of India to buy cotton and sell it directly to micro and small mills. Cotton import duty has been abolished till the end of September. Cotton booked overseas takes two months to arrive in India, so to avail of cotton from overseas till September 30, the cotton import duty has to be waived by the Central Government.
Toward this, the CM reassured us of his help. The interest of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in the development of the textile industry in Tamil Nadu is highly commendable," added Ravi Sam.
Raja M Shanmugam, President, Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA) said, "Knitting companies, handloom and powerloom companies provide 5 percent interest subsidy on current capital to help set up a yarn bank with a required yarn reserve for three months. The Chief Minister said that he will urge the Central Government to regulate the export of yarn and ban the export of cotton. The Central Government has also provided funding to the medical and hotel sector under a 50 percent emergency loan guarantee scheme.
Only 30 percent of loan assistance has been provided to knitwear companies. We requested the CM to urge the Central Government to extend the 20 percent emergency loan assistance scheme in addition to the two sectors mentioned above and take steps to provide financial assistance, to which he agreed."