INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A Parliamentary panel has described Centre's stimulus package for MSME sector as inadequateA high level Parliamentary panel has said that
as the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic "even more vigorously ripped the economy, particularly the micro small and medium (MSME)
sector", the Centre's stimulus package for economic revival has proved to be "inadequate".The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry
of Rajya Sabha, in its report on the impact of the pandemic on the MSME sector, said in its observation on Government's efforts to counter
its ill effects, "the stimulus package announced by the Government for the economic revival from the pandemic hit economy has been found to
be inadequate as the measures adopted were more of loan offering and long-term measures instead of improving the cash flow to generate
demand as immediate relief."In this light, the panel has recommended that "the Government should immediately come out with a larger economic
package aimed at bolstering demand, investment, exports and employment generation to help the economy, including MSMEs to recover from the
households suffered a jolt and their regular income declined significantly during lockdown periods.It has recommended that "Government
should focus on employment generation and ensure that new means of livelihood are generated especially for the youth of the country
A new National Employment Policy may be considered along with exploring the feasibility of establishing a National Electronic Employment
Exchange and building a skill-based database to provide employment to skilled manpower in their area of expertise".Expressing concern on the
regular cash flows to stay afloat.It therefore recommended that to ensure their survival, it is imperative for the Government to provide
informed the committee that it had not conducted any intensive study to ascertain the actual losses suffered by the MSME sector, and was
