January 12, 2014
Bengal first among states in MSME sector
Bengal is ahead of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra in terms of credit flow in the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector. The state has improved on the credit-deposit ratio count with banks lending more to MSME units in Bengal.
Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee in her Facebook post said, “I wish to share with you a significant achievement in the MSME sector in West Bengal. We are No.1 in credit flow in the MSME sector in the country. During April to September 2012, the credit flow from banks in MSME sector in Bengal was the highest at Rs 4,331 crore,” she posted.
Bengal has the highest credit off take during April-September 2013 with a flow of Rs 8,900 crore in this sector. “This is more than 105% increase on year-to-year basis,” the CM said.
The CM cited this as Bengal’s achievement over other states when their average growth is below 50%. “This has been possible due to the persistent follow up of the West Bengal government in providing entrepreneurs all necessary assistance for setting up and running business successfully,” the post said.
The micro, small and medium enterprise department has lined up a series of projects to be launched in the coming few months like launching of the UNESCO rural craft hub, organising a mini synergy MSME in Siliguri, launching a Biswa Bangla showroom in Kolkata airport, foundation stone laying of a silk park and launching of honey processing cluster in Malda. Already a Biswa Bangla Haat has been opened at the Rajarhat eco park.
The department has launched the `Shilpa Abhijan` initiative in the districts so that entrepreneurs can start business on their own and develop clusters of micro and small-scale industries. The government has already announced a host of incentives in the MSME Policy 2013-14, including capital investment and interest subsidy on term loans, electricity duty waiver, reimbursement of entry tax, refund of central sales tax and stamp duty waiver depending on location.
