A 20-member team from Small Scale Industries, Salem, which undertook a nine-day trip to Gujarat, returned here with a bagful of promises from the Gujarat Government.

The delegation met Chief Minister Narendra Modi who in his 30-minute interaction had assured the team from Salem that his government would extend all assistance in areas of technology transfer and also “to expand and set up new industries in the district, particularly in agro-based, chemical, textile and engineering sectors.”

The Chief Secretary D. Raja Gopalan, on whose invitation the Salem team undertook the Gujarat tour, had also endorsed the Chief Minister’s promises.

He told the delegates that the Gujarat Government would be ready to assist the entrepreneurs in Salem district for the promotion of new industries with export potential in the small scale sector.

The team also visited industrial estates at Bavla, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jeipur, Morbi Vadodora, etc., and a Special Economic Zone at Suzion near Baroda. They inspected a foundry cluster at Ahmedabad.

D. Thara, Managing Director of Gujarat Agro Industries Development Corporation, briefed the team about Gujarat’s various agro-based industries and export items of agro products, and also arranged for industrial visits to modern rice mills and spices processing industries.

She promised help for technology transfer on tomato puree, mango pulp production, etc. B.B.Swamin, Industries Commissioner, H.D. Shrimali, Additional Commissioner of Industries, R.N.Raval, Deputy Commissioner of Industries, S.A.Dula, Advisor, Industrial Extension Bureau and M. V. Thiruppugazh, Commissioner of Information, explained the success of Gujarat industry. Association President Mariappan, who led the team, told The Hindu that the State had no power cut and no stabilizer was needed even for home appliances.

To promote the industry a new incentive scheme – ‘Interest Subsidy Scheme’ – was being implemented by which any MSME unit was eligible to avail itself of the interest subsidy at Rs.25 lakh per annum for five continuous years, subject to the only condition that the beneficiary had to submit a confirmation letter for the remittance of the interest by the bank manager concerned.

Mr. Mariappan said that he would soon submit a report of the tour to the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu urging them to usher in such an industry-friendly climate, particularly for small scale and tiny industries as in the state of Gujarat.

Source: The Hindu