The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Madurai News : `Bankers must be positive to finance big projects'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 15, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

`Bankers must be positive to finance big projects'

By J.V. Siva Prasanna Kumar

MADURAI, JULY 14. Lack of risk-taking ability among entrepreneurs and absence of a positive approach towards financing big projects by bankers are hampering industrial development in Madurai district, according to the General Manager of District Industries Centre, R. Arangannal.

Speaking to The Hindu here, Mr. Arangannal said new entrepreneurs were shying away from taking a plunge into establishing new industries, as they could neither produce a collateral security nor mobilise margin money sought by banks to commence the project.

The banks for their part were unwilling to finance big projects or even encourage a group of entrepreneurs in taking up a common venture.

"There are many educated persons keen on taking up small ventures on their own but are hamstrung by financial constraints. Banks should consider their plight and try to provide assistance to a group of persons on the basis of a `cluster approach' to industrial development," said Mr. Arangannal.

He appealed to the entrepreneurs to avail assistance under the Industry Infrastructure Upgrading Scheme that was aimed at providing infrastructure facilities for the existing units to improve their standards to world class. About Rs.50 crores would be given by the Central Government for this project and the sum need not be repaid.

The common facility centre for the Foodgrains Merchants Association here would materialise by this year-end and it would benefit merchants in having a common testing centre, a cold storage facility and a drying yard, among other things.

The DIC exceeded the target for implementing the Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana for 2003-04 as 934 applications were approved as against a target of 900, and bank loans had been disbursed to 760 cases. Another 60 applications were sanctioned this year.

A total of Rs.1.97 crores had been disbursed under the New Anna Marumalarchi Thittam for establishing pasteurisation of milk at Alanganallur, dhal milling, rice milling and jasmine concentrate extraction units at Tirupparankunram, ice cream and coir pith block making units at Vadipatti and a cold storage unit at Tirumangalam. All the units commenced commercial production.

Financial assistance of Rs.8 lakhs had been provided to establish herbal products and homeopathy medicines manufacturing unit in Madurai east panchayat and another Rs.40 lakhs for setting up a pickle making unit at Tirumangalam.

On the anvil were a sodium alginate manufacturing unit at Alanganallur, gingili oil unit at Melur, a unit for making tubes for automobiles and belts from natural rubber at T. Kallupatti and a bio-pesticides unit at Usilampatti.

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