Kerala govt announces special package for MSMEs amid Covid-19 crisis

Kerala government on Thursday announced a Rs 3434 crore special package for the revival of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. The package was approved during a cabinet meeting held today and will be implemented by the industries department.

Under the package, existing MSMEs will be offered interest exemption for additional loans, Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (KSIDC) and Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA) will offer one time settlement on loans and six month's extension on repayment of loans and interest.

KSIDC will offer a moratorium on loans and interest to all operating units for three months without penal interest. The Corporation will also offer loans above Rs 50 lakh to MSMEs.

The state, which has reported zero or single digit new Covid-19 cases for several days last week, has started seeing the number of cases going up again. On Thursday, 26 new positive cases were reported, of which 14 had come down to the state from other states and countries. The state government has said that the increasing number of cases indicates the seriousness of the disease it is fighting against. So far, Covid-19 has been confirmed in 560 individuals in the state. Of these, 64 are under treatment at present.