E-Paper
Stalin seeks moratorium on loan, writes to 12 CMs
Chennai: Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Tuesday wrote to his counterparts in 12 states urging them to write to the union finance minister and the Reserve Bank of India on the need for moratorium on loan repayment for MSMEs and small businesses
Chennai: Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Tuesday wrote to his counterparts in 12 states urging them to write to the union finance minister and the Reserve Bank of India on the need for moratorium on loan repayment for MSMEs and small businesses.
The letter was addressed to chief ministers of mostly non-BJP ruled states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana and West Bengal.
Stating that he had taken up this issue with the Union government, Stalin requested the 12 states to write to the union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Shaktikanta Das, on the issue. Stalin, who has been in office for a month, urged his counterparts “to prevail on them to offer moratorium on repayment of loans for at least the first two quarters of 2021-2022 to all small borrowers with outstanding up to ₹5 crore in view of the lockdowns induced by the second wave of Covid-19.”
The MSME industries have demanded extension of loan moratorium for a period of one year as they have not been able to re-pay the loans or installments in the past one year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Industrial associations of Tamil Nadu had written to finance minister Sitharaman on May 28 seeking extension of the moratorium saying they would not be able to repay the loans by June 30, till the existing moratorium continues.
Citing the example of how the states’ collective effort in asking for vaccines to be procured centrally and distributed free of cost to states led to the union government to revise its position accordingly on Monday, Stalin urged for states to come together once again. “We need to show our collective strength at this hour of great need,” Stalin said in his letter.
Earlier, chief minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan on May 31 had written to 11 non-BJP ruled states including Tamil Nadu put up a joint effort to get vaccines from the union government and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik too followed suit. Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had written to Vijayan urging states to speak in a single voice regarding the vaccines.
During April-May last year when the union government had announced the nationwide lockdown, a moratorium was offered on repayment of loans for such borrowers. “However, in April-June, 2021 when lockdowns are being imposed based on local conditions by the respective states similar relief to borrowers is not being provided for,” Stalin said, adding that the absence of such relief measures would force many businesses to close leading to economic distress. “These MSMEs and small businesses are the mainstay of our economy and employment generation,” he added.
