Light engineering industry in the doldrums: GCCI

NT NETWORK
Posted on 2008-11-04
PANAJI- The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday said local light engineering industry, which is dependent on the mining industry as well as the repair industry, has been most hit by the current Indian financial scenario affected by the global financial crisis. However, the pharmaceutical industry in the state is backing up the Goan industrial sector, the GCCI observed.
The chamber maintained that the recessionary process might force the Goan industry for cutting of corners, which could be reducing expenditure, not work force.
The Industries department, with an objective to provide financial backing to the state industrial sector will facilitate an interaction among the representatives of the large, small, medium and micro industrial units in the state, the GCCI, the Goa Small Industries Association and the Small Industries Development Bank of India, during its daylong industrial credit facilitation programme to be held at the GCCI building, Verna on November 8.
The programme will introduce schemes like the Credit Guarantee Trust Fund, which will not demand any collateral/guarantee as the same would be assured by the government.
The event, to be inaugurated by the Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat, will also invite industrialists as well as budding entrepreneurs desiring to launch new projects.
Addressing a press conference, the industries director, Mr Sanjeet Rodrigues said the programme would deal with various aspects like loans going bad, restructuring of loans required by industrial units, short-term credit required to control situations making industrial units go sick, and so on.
Observing that the state industry as a whole is presently facing certain crunch following global slowdown, which is affecting local industrial production, Mr Rodrigues said the lack of production has hit the tax collection, which finally would hit the employment area.
Stating that the industrial credit facilitation programme will create a platform for Goan industrial sector, especially units affected by the recession, the industries director said the programme would also be participated by a number of nationalised banks, which will prepare lists for procedures to obtain loans and also reposition the loaning facilities.
“The SIDBI would be playing an important role as it will handle the aspect of credit facilities,” Mr Rodrigues stated pointing out that the Prime Minister’s Employment Guarantee Programme, to be run by the Khadi and Village Industries Board, would soon have its guidelines formulated.
“Furthermore, schemes like Credit Guarantee Trust Fund, Credit Linked Capital Subsidy for Technological Upgradation and so on would also be available at the event,” he added.
It was also informed that senior officials from Mumbai would be attending the event to spread awareness on various schemes.
Mr Rodrigues observed that Goa has a good network of nationalised banks, 450 branches in all, which provides one branch for every 3,000 Goans, but the state suffers from low credit ratio.
Maintaining that the disbursement of credit in the state is low, the industries director said that a state-level inter institutional committee meeting recently convened by the general manager of the Reserve Bank of India has taken up the issue.
“We want to improve the credit ratio of the state,” he concluded.
The assistant general manager of the SIDBI, Panaji, Mr Satyaki Rastogi, speaking on the occasion said the industrial credit facilitation programme will have a number of presentations by experts on topics like ‘How new, micro and small enterprises and service units can avail loan from banks’, ‘Role of banks in industry’ and so on. The event will also have one-to-one interaction cum counselling between banks and participants.
The GCCI vice-president, Mr Manguirish Pai Raikar and the GSIA president, Mr Atul Naik were also present on the occasion.