131362769399085175700174534
The world is grappling with the COVID-19 outbreak. The conundrum, however, has been safeguarding lives while ensuring economic balance. The manufacturing units, supply-value chains, MSMEs, the hospitality sector, and other critical sectors are struggling to find a strong ground to recuperate from the huge economic loss the outbreak has brought. By the end of the third phase of the lockdown, we would have lost almost two months of industrial output, roughly equivalent to 8% of GDP a month. Therefore, the industry, especially the MSMEs, workers, and people from the lowest strata of the society are in dire need of a substantive and immediate stimulus package from the government.
MSMEs are the backbone of the Indian economy and are the worst-hit sectors. CII recommends a credit protection scheme for MSMEs, whereby 60-70% of the loan should be guaranteed by the government i.e. if the borrower defaults, the government should repay the bank up to the amount it has guaranteed, so the risk to the lender is limited. The allocation for this guarantee can be kept at Rs 2 lakh crore, though this may not entirely be utilised. MSMEs also are suffering because of the delayed payments, which are in the range of Rs 6 lakh crore. The outstanding payments should be made on an urgent basis to help MSMEs sail through the crisis. CII has also suggested the creation of a fund or SPV with a corpus of Rs 1.4-1.6 lakh Crore, which will subscribe to NCDs/Bonds of corporates rated A and above. The fund can be seeded by the Government contributing a corpus of Rs 50,000 crore, with further investments of Rs 40,000-50,000 crore from banks and the remaining Rs 50,000-60,000 crore by financial institutions. This will provide adequate liquidity to the industry, particularly the stressed sectors such as aviation, tourism, and hospitality. Building public infrastructure could boost demand and create jobs. Rs 4 Lakh Crore could be demarcated for the purpose wherein private investors and investment funds could be roped-in to increase the size of the investment. To begin with, the fund could be utilised for pending projects that would immediately enhance productivity. CII has sought an allocation of Rs 2 lakh crore to be earmarked for bailing out state-run electricity distribution companies that have been accumulating losses. The banks are also at a higher risk of running into an economic crisis as their current exposure to the private sector, including MSMEs, stands at Rs 29.05 lakh crore. Therefore, CII has recommended for recapitalising the banks with an allocation of Rs 2 lakh crores to manage any surge in NPAs.
Borrowings from domestic and foreign sources as well as raising revenues through disinvestments could also be considered to finance the Rs 15 lakh crore stimulus.
Click here to read the full report
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorConfederation of Indian Industry - COVID 19 Action Group ArchivesCategories |
|