Srinagar: The National Conference Member Parliament from Anantnag Hasnain Masoodi on Thursday called on Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman and demanded moratorium on loan repayment for MSME and small businesses in J&K.
According to a party press release, Masoodi brought to the notice of the Finance Minister the predicaments suffered by the MSME and small traders in Jammu and Kashmir and drew her attention towards the disruptions caused by the successive clampdowns and Covid-19 induced lockdowns.
Masoodi held that most of the start-ups and MSMEs have landed up in uncertainty due to the problem in the demand side. The small scale businesses, Masoodi maintained have no money to repay the loans amidst disruption in the income.
He also told the concerned minister that six-month moratorium on terms loans announced by the RBI helped the MSMEs briefly but the reprieve fell short in addressing their recovery concerns amid the demand slump.
“The much-needed deferment in repaying of loans will provide oxygen mask for the survival of distressed MSMEs, and other small scale traders and businesses. The repaying of loans should be postponed until the demand side improves,” he said.
In his interaction with the concerned minister, he stated that nearly 3000 MSMEs in J&K are staring at closure. The holders, he said aren’t able to pay wages to their workers as the entire supply chain network has broken creating liquidity crises.
“I informed her that the situation got worse after second wave of the pandemic and is bound to get compounded in wake of the imminent third wave,” he added.
Masoodi also brought to the notice of the concerned minister the unavailbity of banking facilities in the remote areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The role of commercial banks in rural settings is very important. The rural branches motivate people for savings, ensures availability of micro-credit for agriculturalists, capital formation, and sustain and developing cottage and small scale industries. The much needed establishment of banking services in these far-flung areas particularly Qamar, Verinag, Kapran, and Utarsoo in Shangus will go a long way in areas will give flip to whole lot of economic activities,”he told the minister according to the press release.
