SRINAGAR: Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha approved the further release of Rs 250 crore as Interest Subvention, part of the economic package for revival of business and industry in J&K, and handed over a cheque of the said amount to Jammu and Kashmir Bank as the third instalment of the 5% Interest Subvention, an official spokesman in Jammu said
Arun Kumar Mehta, Financial Commissioner, Finance Department and Sh. RK Chhibber, Chairman and MD J&K Bank were present on the occasion.
The government of J&K had already released Rs 500 crore so far, and today another instalment of Rs 250 crore as 5% Interest Subvention was released as part of the overall package of Rs 1353 crore. The Interest Subvention has so far provided immense relief to 3.44 lakh borrowers in the current Covid-19 crisis.
The J&K government had announced a mega Relief and Revival Package of Rs 1353 crore on September 19, 2020, to help J&K business sector to tide over the Covid-19 crisis and other difficulties.
The business revival package involved relief measures, both financial and non-financial, aimed primarily at the sectors which had been most affected by the ongoing situation so as to achieve sustainable and continued growth.
The Lt Governor observed that the core component of the package was Rs 950 crore as 5% Interest Subvention to all borrowers. Apart from Interest Subvention, Local and MSME filters have also been operationalised on GeM enabling all departments in J&K to procure Goods and Services from the local manufacturers.
Local and MSME filters can be used together for procurements made up to Rs. 5.00 lakh from local manufacturers. For purchases above Rs. 5.00 lakh, additional terms and conditions clause can be used by the departments for restricting procurement within a geographical limit, through the process of bidding on the GeM, said the Lt Governor.
Pertinently, it was one of the important components of the economic package announced by the Lt Governor for giving a boost to local entrepreneurship.
To provide further impetus to business and ensure ease of doing business, Single Window Portal has been set up and online clearances introduced. Special desks have been created to address issues of youth and women entrepreneurs in J&K Bank. An unprecedented Industrial Package was also announced, besides industry-friendly policies in 14 key sectors of the economy. Not only this, about 19000 youth including women have been provided financial assistance to start their own business ventures by J&K Bank, as a follow up of the announcement made by the Lt Governor during the Back to Village-3 programme.
The Lt Governor said that in coming times, the Government will continue to take further steps to boost the economy of J&K and help people to overcome the difficulties with due attention to the Business Community.
Steps taken by the Government seem to be yielding positive results. Independent reports suggest that the unemployment rate in J&K has declined significantly. Further, if GST growth is taken as an indicator of the state of the economy, J&K witnessed a relatively healthy growth of over 2.7 % during 2020-21, a sign of the resilience of the economy, he added.
Meanwhile, the Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir (FCIK), Shahid Kamili, welcomed the release of Rs 250 crore interest subvention for the revival of Business and industry in Jammu and Kashmir.
President Kamili said that the release of Rs 250 crore interest subvention reflects the seriousness of Lietuanant Governer Manoj Sinha in handholding the businessmen who have immensely suffered over the years. He also said that it will boost the morale of the businessmen of J&K who are struggling to keep their business afloat in this pandemic which is proving a disaster for the GDP of J&K like other states.
President Kamili said that earlier instalments worth Rs 500 crore as interest subvention has helped the businessmen to revive their units to a larger extent.
He expressed hope that government will continue to take further steps in the coming days to boost the economy of Jammu and Kashmir and help people to overcome difficulties with due attention to the Business Community.
“The interest subvention by Government would provide a major relief for the business sector in J&K. I hope the Lieutenant Governor would continue such initiative in J&K till the economy is back on track.,” Kamli said.
President Kamili also expressed gratitude to the Advisor to Lietuanant Governer Baseer Ahmed Khan, Chief Secretary B V R Subramanyam, Financial Commissioner Finance A K Mehta, Principal Secretary Industries and Commerce Ranjan Prakash Thakur and J&K Bank Chairman R K Chibber.
FCIK highly appreciates FC Finance for carving out Rs 250 cr amount at this critical hour when the whole country is fighting a dreaded virus, he said.
The FCIK president said that they would support the Government in every initiative which will inch us towards the revival of business sector in J&K.
However, President Kamli sought the intervention of the LG in addressing other issues of unitholders, which have been taken up with him during the meeting.
The FCIK President seeks the intervention of LG Sinha to formulate a financial package to compensate the business community for the losses suffered after August 5, 2019, and worsened by the two waves of Covid19 which led to the shutdown of business activities.
