writingonblog uncensored: Tanstia asks centre to reduce I-T for state MSMEs

writingonblog uncensored: Tanstia asks centre to reduce I-T for state MSMEs:  C Shivakumar @ Chennai: Ahead of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget presentation on Saturday (February 1), Tamil Nadu S...

writingonblog uncensored: Economic Survey recognises success of TN in champi...

writingonblog uncensored: Economic Survey recognises success of TN in champi...: CHENNAI: Industries Minister TRB Rajaa said on Friday that it is a moment of immense pride for Tamil Nadu as Economic Survey 2025 has reco...

Economic Survey recognises success of TN in championing growth of non-leather footwear sector: Rajaa

CHENNAI:
Industries Minister TRB Rajaa said on Friday that it is a moment of immense pride for Tamil Nadu as Economic Survey 2025 has recognised the remarkable success of state in championing the growth of the non leather footwear sector.

The minister in a social media platform 'X' said that Tamil Nadu’s contribution to India’s footwear and leather output is unmatched, with the state producing 38% of the country’s footwear and leather products output generating over 2 lakh jobs, and 80-90% of the jobs being generated in the non-leather footwear sector being women.

Stating that this highlights how Tamil Nadu’s progressive policies ensure inclusive and distributed growth under the leadership of Chief minister M K Stalin, he said the state has emerged as the go-to destination for global footwear manufacturing giants like Nike, Puma, Adidas and many many more. "Our focus on developing non-leather footwear hubs like Ranipet and Perambalur has ensured access to talent and created opportunities in regions that needed them the most," the minister said.

"Our efforts through Guidance Tamil Nadu have set benchmarks for investment facilitation and global outreach. With initiatives like the dedicated Footwear and Leather Products Policy 2022 and advanced industry-academia collaboration through WorkLabs, we are building a comprehensive ecosystem that supports both large manufacturers and MSMEs," the minister said.

The Economic Survey, which was released on Friday, stated Guidance actively liaised with Taiwanese agencies to strengthen ties with potential investors in footwear sector. Guidance established contacts with major contract manufacturers of Nike like Pou Chen, Hong Fu, Taekwang and Changshin, positioning Tamil Nadu as an attractive destination for manufacturing.

The survey stated, "The incentive package system offered in Tamil Nadu is flexible and can be tailored to the needs of each investor. Tamil Nadu offers a range of incentives such as capital subsidies, payroll subsidies, and land cost subsidies. The state has launched a dedicated Footwear and Leather Products Policy 2022, which aims to develop a comprehensive ecosystem that supports both large manufacturers and smaller enterprise."

It also stated that the State has focused on developing industrial estates in rural areas to ensure access to a ready workforce, particularly women. "These efforts have attracted foreign investors, such as Feng Tey from Taiwan, who set up contract manufacturing for Nike. It has identified land in districts like Madurai and Sivaganga for future footwear investments, ensuring land availability for potential manufacture," the survey added.

Tanstia asks centre to reduce I-T for state MSMEs

 C Shivakumar @ Chennai:

Ahead of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget presentation on Saturday (February 1), Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries' Association (Tanstia), the apex body of all district associations, Industrial Estate Associations, and Product  Manufacturers' Associations of the state, has sought from the centre reduction of income tax (I-T) for small and medium enterprises and low premium insurance to safeguard the industry and entrepreneurs from all kinds of risk.

Tanstia president C  K Mohan told TNIE that in case of risk due to natural disasters, there is no separate clause for industry under the national disaster fund as such, so the government should look at ways to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

A provision could be introduced under I-T where industries could be compensated during natural disasters. "This will result in more compliance to the tax regime," said Mohan.

Similarly, he rued that there is no exit policy for small and medium enterprises unlike large companies which have National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) as the adjudicating authority under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. So, the NCLT threshold limit for initiating insolvency process should be reduced to Rs 2 lakh instead of Rs 1 crore, he suggested.
Tanstia has also sought for increasing the rate of depreciation for plant and machinery to 40% so as to encourage small industries to undertake modernisation.  
"The total  depreciation for research and development and technology upgradation should be 1.5 times of the capital value," said Mohan.

The FM had announced a new mechanism for facilitating continuation of bank credit to MSMEs during their stress period while being in the special mention account (SMA) stage for reason beyond their control, but "till date no guidelines have been given on this", he said.

Under the procurement policy for small and medium enterprises, he said the existing limit (25%) reserved for small and micro industry from central public sector units shall be increased to 35%. Tanstia has also suggested setting up export facilitation centres, providing access to international markets, and increasing export subsidies. This can help MSMEs grow globally. The export subsidies shall be 10% on value of  exports.

Tanstia also urged the Union government for simplication of forms and returns. "The government had made frequent modifications in forms and returns which are not easy to understand by the stakeholders.  If there is any unintentional clerical mistake, the stakeholders face huge levy of taxes, interest and penalty. So, simplification of forms and returns is needed," he said.

writingonblog uncensored: New AI powered platform for two-wheelers launched

writingonblog uncensored: New AI powered platform for two-wheelers launched: CHENNAI: Stepping into the next phase of  the electric mobility by integrating advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, Pure EV...

New AI powered platform for two-wheelers launched

CHENNAI:
Stepping into the next phase of  the electric mobility by integrating advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, Pure EV, a electric two wheeler
manufacturer announced a significant upgrade in two vehicles -- eTryst X, a motorcycle and epluto 7G Max, a high-end premium scooter, by launching X Platform 3.0, including smart AI battery.

Aimed at improving vehicle performance, connectivity, and overall rider convenience, the vehicles will have first predictive AI and Cloud AI combination of platform in the two-wheeler segement and marks a significant step forward in enhancing the user experience and durability of the vehicle, said Dr Nishanth Dongari, Founder and Managing director of PURE EV. He said that the company has expansion plans of setting up a plant in one of the four south Indian states with a capital expenditure of Rs 400 crore in the next four years. The eTryst X motorcycle is priced at Rs 1.2 to Rs 1.5 lakh while the scooter is priced at 1 lakh to 1.15 lakh. With the launch of new platform, Nishant hopes to double the sales target by selling around 25,000 vehicles during the financial year 2025-2026.

writingonblog uncensored: India can get additional exports of $25bn followin...

writingonblog uncensored: India can get additional exports of $25bn followin...: C Shivakumar @ Chennai: After US President Donald Trump proposed tariff hikes on foreign goods, a Federation of Indian Exports Organisatio...

India can get additional exports of $25bn following US tariff wars, says FIEO

C Shivakumar @ Chennai:
After US President Donald Trump proposed tariff hikes on foreign goods, a Federation of Indian Exports Organisation (FIEO) study has stated that India can get an additional export of around $25 billion in lieu of tariff war in sectors such as electronics and electricals,  automotive parts and components, organic chemicals,  apparel and textiles, footwear, furniture and home decor and toys.

Israr Ahmed, vice-president of Federation of Indian exports Organisation (FIEO) told The New Indian Express that Indian government should allocate additional corpus fund of Rs 250 crore into Market Access scheme which will focus on United States for next three years.

"We require increasing our presence in the US with showcasing in a large  number of exhibitions, buyer sellers meet and tie up with large local associations  of retailers and distributors in the US with proactive support of the Government. We want India to be an alternative for US consumers following tariff duties imposed on competitors," he said.

Ahmed said that India stands to benefit from Trump's announcement of levying tarrifs on foreign imports as it will impact countries like China, Canada and Mexico more than India.

However,, the textiles sector is cautious and says any tariff hike could impact the exporters in Tiruppur. The Tirupur cluster, a prominent MSME sector, comprises over 2,000 exporters and 20,000 MSME units, contributes approximately 55% of India's knitwear exports. President of Tiruppur  Exporters Association K M Subramanian told TNIE that. "Indian textiles are the most preferred in the United States and we hope there will be no tariff imposed on Indian Textiles in lieu of good ties between President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi."

Meanwhile, exporters have urged Finance Minister Nirmala Seetharaman to continue Interest Equalisation Scheme (IES), which is providing a level playing field to exporters, with a cap of Rs 10 crore per exporter. The demand comes as inflation is increasing the cost of inputs and the freight rates are still high. The exports during the operation of IES between 2015-2024 grew at a CAGR of 6.6 % as against merchandise trade growth of 4.4%.  India’s non -oil exports are still growing despite global challenges. Interest Equalisation Scheme has  helped exporters to obtain orders giving very less profit ,  which could have been lost but for the interest equalization scheme, exporters said.

A tax deduction of 200% to 250% has been sought for research and development spending under section 35(2AB) of the Income Tax Act.as R&D is  required for almost all sectors but is more crucial for the sunrise sectors which will be the new driver of exports

Ahmed said that exports has been flat despite geopolitical tensions which is quite significant when compared to other nations.

Three international airlines reschedule timings due to Bhogi

CHENNAI:
International Airlines have rescheduled international flights to and from Chennai Airport from January 13 anticipating poor visibility due to Bhogi celebrations, according to Chennai Airport sources.

The arrival of Oman Air (WY0251) flight to Chennai has been delayed by three hours on January 13, January 14 and January 15 as the timing has been revised to 9.30am (usual time 6.300am) while the departure of yje flight (WY0252) has been rescheduled to 10.20am (usual departure time 7.30am).

Similarly, the timings of inbound and outbound Air Asia and Emirates flights have been rescheduled. The inbound Air Asia Berhad flight AK0011 from Kualalumpur which was to land in Chennai on 7.25am will now arrive at 9.35am while the departure of the flight AK010 which was scheduled at 8.05am is rescheduled to 10.15am. Similarly, Emirates flight EK0544 from Dubai which was to arrive at 8.15am has been rescheduled to 9.45am while the departure timing of flight EK0545 to Dubai (9.45am) has been rescheduled to 10.50am.

Last year, three international flights were diverted to Hyderabad due to poor visibility.

--