Kassia wants state industrial policy in place

Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (Kassia) has sought finalisation of the manual containing procedures for implementing the state industrial policy and publication of action plan charts on priority basis.

In a pre-budget memorandum submitted to the state government, Kassia president M C R Shetty has identified 21 policy and development issues for positive action towards accelerated development of small scale industries in the state.

"A high power committee for overseeing the implementation of rehabilitation of sick units' exit policy and evaluation of policy implementation may be created to ensure that the result of planning as per the policy matches with the accrual of results," Shetty said.

Kassia has also urged the government for allotment of land for industrial estates, to be set up by private agencies like trade associations, should be made quicker to encourage availing of integrated infrastructure facility scheme. It has called for speeding up of establishment of composite industrial estates in at least five most-backward areas integrating the eight segments like Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Coir Board, sericulture, power loom, handloom, handicrafts, rural artisans and SSIs.

The memorandum has also called for conducting a comprehensive industrial potential survey of the entire north Karnataka region by a professional body and develop a blueprint for industrialisation, particularly in the field of non-engineering, chemical, horticulture and floriculture product.

It has also urged for the restoration of at least 5 per cent margin money for first generation entrepreneurs to accelerate self employment.

According to Shetty, Kassia is one of the 10 UNIDO subcontracting partnership exchanges identified for the promotion of international sub-contracting.

However, the centre has not picked up for want of professional acumen. There is a need for a one time grant of Rs 15 lakh to equip the centre with professional manpower, systems and functional capabilities and to reorient its working to correlate with the opportunities arising out of new investments and emerging development programmes in the state, he said.

Kassia has also urged the government to earmark Rs 250 crore during the financial year, 2008-09, towards basic infrastructure development out of Rs 500 crore committed by the previous government. The state level industrial infrastructure development board committee has to be set up to oversee the infrastructure development and this should be governed by the representatives of the industrialists, the memorandum said.

The association has also called for doing away with the policy of surrendering permission of existing power connections and fresh application whenever any industrial unit vacates its existing place of work and shifts to a new place. The same power connection licence be continued at the new place of work, Shetty said.

Kassia has also sought announcement of a separate policy for SSIs that will guide them on setting up captive power stations.

The tariff on power should be reduced for industrial use on the lines of subsidised power for agriculture, the memorandum added.