Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal tells industry to prepay MSMEs for their services

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal (Illustration: Moneycontrol)

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal today has asked industry bodies to prepay Medium, small and micro enterprises (MSME) to safeguard their viability and to boost employment and growth. The union minister was speaking at an interaction with the leaders of major industry associations.

The meeting was called to seek inputs from India Inc on ways to continue a fast rebound of economic activities, and ensure that high growth rates are achieved.

MSME minister Narayan Rane had last month informed the Lok Sabha that about 9 percent of small units had closed down due to the impact of COVID-19. This was based on an online survey conducted by the National Small Industries Corporation.

The online survey conducted in August 2020 covering around 5,744 MSMEs in 32 states and union territories found that 91 percent of them were operational while 9 percent had shut due to the pandemic.

During the meeting, Goyal said that there was an imminent need for upgradation of testing facilities and labs to improve to quality and called upon Indian industry to extend its support in this regard. He also asks the industry to lend guidance for transformational exports growth beyond $ 400 billion.

He also urged businesses to use the single window facility made available for business processes and approvals, to the maximum extent possible. Suggestions and inputs for further decriminalization of rules and reduction of compliance burdens, where ever feasible, were also sought.

Trade growth

The minister said that growth in services exports, despite travel and tourism restrictions was truly commendable and set a target of reaching $ 250 billion worth of services exports.

"He added that Indian professionals had demonstrated great success in working from home and therefore the nation had succeeded in meeting every single one of its international commitments, even during the pandemic, earning it the title of being a trusted partner to the world," the ministry said in a statement.

With regards t the series of proposed trade deals currently being negotiated by the government, Goyal told industry leaders to be proactive in giving inputs to the government. "Industry should become more demanding," he said.

Highlighting the progress made in FTA negotiations, Goyal said the government was striving to conclude several Early Harvest Agreements so that their benefits could reach industry soon. He stressed that the trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates was nearing conclusion, negotiations were at an advanced stage with Australia, and that discussions with Israel were ongoing.

Referring to the relaunch of market access negotiations with Korea, Goyal said that a comprehensive fast-track dialogue had been initiated to address concerns arising out of the previous agreement.