Existence of MSMEs under threat: Coimbatore MP

The Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in Coimbatore district are facing several challenges and their existence is under threat, said Member of Parliament from Coimbatore P.R. Natarajan

The Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in Coimbatore district are facing several challenges and their existence is under threat, said Member of Parliament from Coimbatore P.R. Natarajan. In a memorandum to the Union Government, Mr. Natarajan said the Communist Party of India (Marxist) conducted a meeting with the MSMEs here recently, in the presence of the party general secretary Sitaram Yechury. The MSMEs in Coimbatore operate in different sectors such as pumpsets, plastic, and wetgrinders and provide jobs to thousands of workers. These units do job works for medium and large-scale industries. But the units have been facing several challenges in the last few months. For instance, the cost of raw materials has increased manifold in the last one year. The price of amino gas has increased 166 %, he said. The MSMEs are unable to realise even minimum profit and hence face the threat of closure. The government should take steps to control the prices of raw materials. It should constitute a committee to monitor the prices and ensure these remain stable for a year. The MSMEs pay GST of 12 % to 18 %. This is too high and the rate should be brought down to 5 %. The government should have a redress forum on GST for MSMEs.