KT Rama Rao writes to Union Finance Minister, seeks reappraisal of Aatmanirbhar Package

Telangana Minister of Information Technology and Industry K Taraka Rama Rao penned down a letter to the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman asking for more realistic implications and a review of the Aatmanirbhar relief package for the most affected constituents like Micro, Small, and Medium enterprises. In the letter, Rao wrote, "It is high time that we do a sincere reappraisal of the Aatmanirbhar relief package and make it work more realistically and humanly for the most affected constituencies, of which MSMEs occupy a top priority."

The Aatmanirbhar relief package was announced in May last year for all the sectors affected by COVID-19. Noting the impact of the Rs 20 lakh crores package minimal on the MSMEs, Rao informed that almost 25% of MSMEs have lost a greater part of their revenues.  

Further in his letter Rao mentioned, "It is now over a year that Honourable Prime Minister announced the Aatmanirbhar Relief Package of Rs. 20 lakh crore for all the sectors adversely impacted by COVID. As the Minister of Industries in Telangana, I have focused hard on ensuring that the MSMEs of our state who constitute the backbone of our manufacturing sector benefit from the package. However, one year down the line, I regret to mention the impact of the package has been minimal for this sector that has really faced the brunt of the pandemic. More than 80% of the MSMEs have faced a negative impact mainly due to the heavy lockdown of last year, and above 25% have lost significant revenues. "

Rao mentioned that for the MSME sector in the package, 3 lakh crore were allotted under the Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line. He noted that different MSMEs have different challenges, thus the 'one size fits all' approach hardly resolves their issues. He suggested the Union Finance Minister approve a solid financial grant that will take care of the losses the MSMEs have suffered. The IT Minister of Telangana appealed to the Finance Minister to take the concern onboard amid the impact of the second wave of COVID-19 and fear of the speculated their wave. 

Inputs with ANI, Image Source- ANI/PTI