Bhubaneswar: The state government Saturday informed the Assembly that 12 industry bodies in the state had approached the state government seeking assistance during Covid-19 pandemic.
This was stated by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Minister Dibya Shankar Mishra through a written statement.
“We have received several pleas from the industry bodies in this regard during the pandemic. We are considering their demands and suggestions carefully. Meanwhile, a total of Rs 12.25 crore has been given to the MSME sector during the pandemic as assistance,” the minister said.
As per the details submitted by the government, the industry bodies from across the state send their submissions to the government and talked about their struggle and asked for their intervention during the Covid-19 outbreak.
The All Odisha Cinema Hall Owner’s Association had asked for waving off the minimum demand charges for the initial months of the pandemic.
The Odisha Industries Federation had demanded extension of the facilities of social security schemes to all MSME unit workers including tourism and entertainment. It also demanded payment of a handholding support of the government for payment of minimum wages to the workers and also early refund of the state GST.
Submissions from industrial bodies from Ganjam, Mayurbhanj, Rourkela, Balasore and other areas were also received which also put forth their demands to reduce extra burden on industries.
The Odisha Small Scale Industries Association had approached the government for considering the demand of soft loans to the MSME sector where loans at nominal rates could be disbursed to the MSME industries to ensure that thee do not suffer during the pandemic.
The North Orissa Chamber of Commerce and Industry had demanded release of subsidy and other benefits as per the Industrial Promotion Resolution.