West Bengal govt to look for ways to boost credit to MSMEs: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that her government “will see” how the state’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector, for which funding is an issue, can avail of of loans and will discuss the scope of such an assistance with the state cooperative banks (SCBs).

Addressing businessmen at the State MSME Conclave, Banerjee said, “Bank loan is a problem for the MSME sector and they are facing a lot of problems because of demonetisation and GST. We will see how they can get loans.”

Currently, commercial banks and SCBs provide loans to Kisan Credit Card holders and options resembling such an initiative can be explored.

Banerjee, however, maintained that banking in rural India needs to be strengthened and both the nationalised as well as private banks need to give loans to the MSMEs.

In the last seven years, bank credit to the MSMEs accounts for Rs 17.4 million. Besides, the state government will implement services like online single-window clearance, technology facilitation centres, a finance portal and others to solve funding issues and further improve the ease of doing business scenario in West Bengal. Banerjee also assured this sector, which employs about 11 million people in the state, support in export promotion. The overall export from West Bengal currently stands at Rs 620 billion, which Banerjee targets to double in the next three years.

She said that her government, together with sector specific Export Promotion Councils, is also working to set up sector specific Export Facilitation Centres to provide in-house and outreach business development services.

“If you do something here, it can go to the UK, China, the US... and others. See the tomorrow, not today,” she said. Banerjee said that whenever her government visits a foreign country for promotion of the state and to attract investment, the MSME sector will be promoted. She is set to visit Germany soon. The CM also suggested that the tourism sector could be brought under the MSME segment.