Tamil Nadu MSMEs express disappointment over election manifestos

For the 40 lakh registered Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in Tamil Nadu, the election manifestos of the two main political parties – the DMK and the AIADMK – have been disappointing.

Of the 40 lakh MSMEs, nearly 22 lakh are in the manufacturing and service sectors and account for 40 % of exports from the State. Three major issues that have hit the MSMEs hard in the last five years are the increasing demand charges for electricity, rising property tax, and lack of incentives to promote emerging sectors such as the defence. These have not been addressed by the DMK and the AIADMK, said the heads of MSME associations.

The AIADMK manifesto says the fixed charges levied by the Electricity Board on micro and small industries will be regulated; the industrial tariff rate will be restructured in a way that does not affect entrepreneurs; additional subsidies will be provided to encourage micro and small industries to generate solar energy for captive use; the demand of 5 % GST on job work will be taken up with the Central government.

The DMK manifesto says steps will be taken up to modernise the MSMEs; give support for adoption of new technologies; help the MSMEs prepare digital catalogues, and develop MSME specific clusters in every district.

K.E. Raghunathan, president of the Association of Indian Entrepreneurs, said that going forward, Tamil Nadu needs clear, actionable, and MSME-centric policies to ensure sustainable and inclusive growth. There is no clear announcement or concrete measure to reduce operational costs for MSMEs, including electricity tariffs, interest burden, or tax reliefs in DMK’s manifesto, he said.

The MSME associations had submitted their demands to all political parties across the State.

“It is said that the MSME unit owners constitute just 2 % of vote share. That is a probable reason for not addressing our demands,” said the president of a Coimbatore-based MSME association.

“MSMEs do look forward for announcements that will give them relief,” said a foundry owner.

The association representatives say that though the associations are neutral and work with the State government, the announcement or lack of it for MSMEs do determine their voting decision.