Tuesday, November 25, 2014: The new micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) policy has been given a green signal by Uttarakhand Cabinet. The seal of approval was put on the draft during a meeting in Dehradun on Wednesday. Within the policy the areas of incentives have been split into two categories A and B in the state.
All the backward districts like Pithoragarh, Uttarakashi, Chamoli, Champawat, Rudraprayag and Bageshwar will be considered under category A, wherein the subsidy they’ll be provided would be 40 per cent. Whereas the districts like Tehri, Pauri and Almora would be included in Category B and the capital subsidy will be 30 per cent.
The interest subsidy in the category A will be 12 per cent and in category B it will be 10 per cent. The new policy also involves power subsidy. The MSMEs under the category A will be given 100 per cent relaxation in value added tax (VAT) for the initial five years, whereas the category B MSME will be entitled to 75 per cent relaxation. Likewise, the transport subsidy will also be entitled in graded manner.
Also the cluster development schemes of the central government will be entitled to all government support and perhaps will also set up mini tool rooms.
Other set forth achievements for the new policy are development of a land bank and also the reservation of at least 25 per cent of the new industrial estates, developed by the State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (SIDCUL) for the MSMEs. The land would also be given at the concession rate to MSMEs by SIDCUL
The policy will also give away awards to best MSMEs on the basis of their performance in growth and profit. The effective implementation of the policy will be monitored by a committee headed by the chief minister. The policy was set by the department of MSME and the Industries Association of Uttarakhand (IAU) on the basis of suggestions incorporated from various business chambers.
