Bakht for more sops to SSI

Bakht further said the excise relief on branded goods offered to the SSIs till 1993-94 needs to be restored in order to boost the sector. This, which was withdrawn on the grounds of misuse by large scale units, he felt was necessary since SSIs are capable of producing goods for mass consumption but face difficulties with regard tomarketing. According to Bakht, sickness is a chronic problem for the SSIs especially in the absence of any effective mechanism to deal with. He stated that special attention would be paid for reorienting fiscal, trade and monetary policies and also for ensuring their effective implementation at all levels to make the small-scale industries more competitive.

On the problem of non-availability of timely bank credit to the SSIs, Bakht said that there is a need for vigilant monitoring of credit flow to the small-scale sector by the Reserve Bank.