AP govt to clear incentives worth Rs 905 crore for MSMEs

Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister Mekapati Gowtham Reddy on Friday said that the state government will clear incentives worth Rs 905 crore to MSMEs in the state.

"Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has approved for clearance of incentives for MSMEs worth Rs 905 crore which is pending since 2014. They will be cleared in two installments in May and June," Gowtham Reddy said.

"The previous government did not clear the incentives to MSMEs. The dues were - Rs 43 crore in 2014-15, Rs 70 crore in 2015-16, Rs 195 crore in 2016-17, Rs 207 crore in 2017-18, Rs 313 crore in 2018-19. In the present government tenure, it amounted to Rs 77 crore in 2019-20," he added.

He further said that the textile industries' pending incentives will be cleared after the centre's announcements.

"The Chief Minister also decided to waive power demand charges of Rs 188 crores for MSMEs for the first quarter of the current financial year. Other industries will be given chance to defer the payment of power demand charges for Q1," Gowtham Reddy said.

"In order to face the post-COVID-19 crisis, CM Jagan has decided to provide financial assistance to MSMEs. A corpus fund with Rs 200 crores will be set up. MSMEs can avail funds from it at a low-interest rate, for working capital needs," he added.

( With inputs from ANI )