Punjab Budget 2025 | Industry hails push to MSMEs; pans reduced allocation

“The previous Congress government spent only Rs 53 crore towards financial incentives to industry in its five-year term and the Akali-BJP government before that spent no money at all in five years. This stark comparison shows that it is only this government that truly cares for the progress and prosperity of industry in Punjab,” he said.

On micro, small and medium enterprises, Cheema said under the ‘Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance’ (RAMP) scheme, the state is implementing projects worth Rs 120 crore to enhance market access, financial assistance, and technology adoption for small enterprises.

The FM proposed a budgetary allocation of Rs 3,426 crore, including subsidized power for the industrial sector. “I also propose a dedicated allocation of Rs 10 crore for the upgradation of the R&D Centre and the Institute of Auto Parts and Hand Tools Technology (IAHT) in Ludhiana,” he said.

Badish Jindal, a Ludhiana-based industrialist said, “The budget for industries has been reduced by Rs 24 crore as against the last fiscal. Similarly, the budget for village and small industries has also been reduced from Rs 273 crore to Rs 121 crore over the past two years. The power subsidy for industries has also been reduced from Rs 2,130 crore to Rs 2,017 crore.” “The government is claiming an investment of Rs 92,000 crore in the state, which should require a provision of at least Rs 9,000 crore. However, only fiscal incentives have increased from Rs 124 crore to Rs 250 crore over the past two years. Industrial infrastructure in Punjab is in a poor state, yet its budget has remained fixed at Rs 50 crore for the past two years,” Jindal said.

Haling the allocation of Rs 120 crore to the MSME sector, Pankaj Sharma, president of the Association of Trade and Industrial and Undertakings (ATIU), said, “Industrialists had urged Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to sanction funds for the upliftment of R&D centres, auto parts centres, etc. We thank the CM for providing Rs 10 crore for the same. The budget has an outlay for subsidised power, but there has been no major power generation in the state in the past 25 years, even as the power demand has constantly been increasing at a rate of 15 per cent per annum. Also, there is no provision for providing cheaper finance to the MSME, which has been long-pending.”

KK Seth, chairman of the Federation of Industrial & Commercial Organisation (FICO) said, “In its poll manifesto, the AAP has promised to provide electricity at Rs 5 per unit to industries, but nothing was done even in this budget.”

FICO general secretary Manjinder Singh Sachdeva said, “We welcome the allotment of Rs 10 crore for the Research and Development Centre and the Institute of Auto Parts and Hand Tools Technology in Ludhiana, but at least Rs 50 crore should have been allocated to upgrade the bicycle and sewing machine.”

FICO president Gurmeet Singh Kular said, “The Punjab government has recently imposed a stamp duty of 0.25 per cent on the loan amount for loans sanctioned by banks/loan crediting companies. Additionally, in the case of hypothecation and equitable mortgage, a 0.25 per cent will be charged, despite the industry having been demanding the government to waive stamp and hypothecation duties to provide a relief to industries which are bearing a hefty burden of various taxes. Besides, the increased stamp and hypothecation duties are not conducive to ease of doing business in Punjab, but nothing was done in this budget.”