The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : `Implement House panel recommendations on small industries'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 06, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

`Implement House panel recommendations on small industries'

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, APRIL 5. The Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association (TANSTIA) has appealed to the State and Central governments to implement in full the recommendations of a Parliamentary Standing Committee on problems facing the SSIs in the procurement of steel due a sharp increase in its price.

In a statement, the president, K.V. Kanakambaram, called for establishment of a mechanism to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the short and long-term recommendations made by the committee, so that the small industry sector would be able to continue its role in employment creation.

Mr. Kanakambaram pointed out that the Parliamentary Committee had suggested that the government ensure supply of raw materials to SSIs at stable prices for six months to begin with, and that all buyer-vendor agreements for purchases by the private sector as also governments should have price escalation clauses.

Besides calling for a further reduction in customs and excise duties, it urged the government to consider installing a `trigger-price mechanism' in the short term to link inversely the rate of import duty and the international price of steel above a threshold level.

Observing that the SSI sector had not derived any benefit from the duty reductions effected so far, Mr. Kanakambaram said steel furniture manufacturers had closed their units from March 25 in protest, while foundry units in Coimbatore had downed shutters for 10 days as early as mid-December last.

Manufacturers and traders in primary raw material such as steel, aluminium, copper, nickel and plastics were accusing one another of adopting unfair practices to take advantage of the rise in the world price and shortage in supplies, even as SSIs processing the material were put to hardship, he said.

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