Bhubaneswar: Utkal Chamber of Commerce & Industry Limited (UCCIL) President Dr. Prabodh Mohanty lauded the Union Budget for 2025-26 presented before the Parliament by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today.
In his first reaction after listening to the Budget speech of Sitharaman, Dr Mohanty said the Union Government has treated MSME as the second growth engine followed by agriculture. So definitely, the MSME sector will get a boost from this budget, he said.
MSME coverage or turnover limit has been expanded by 2.5 times, which is an encouraging move, the Captain Of Industry said.
“The Union Finance Minister has announced easy access to credit for MSMEs. She has enhanced the credit limit for MSMEs without any collateral guarantee to Rs 10 crore from existing Rs 5 crore,” UCCIL Chief said.
“This Budget has given a positive indication of growth and it has a feel good factor. This Budget has something for everybody. From the preliminary point, I can give 60 out of 100 marks. It is a first class plus budget. It can move to super first class or excellent after analyzing it in detail,” Dr Mohanty said.
The industry sector has got a lot of initiatives in this budget, he said, adding, Odisha would get benefits from the funding for infrastructure projects and tourism sector.
Sanjeev Mahapatra, Honorary Secretary of UCCIL too welcomed the Budget terming it a well balanced one and has specific focus for MSME sector. The Income Tax slab has been revised and enhanced, which will support the middle class and salaried employees, he said.
Murali Jammula, Vice President (Commerce) of UCCIL said the Union Finance Minister has announced to double the credit support for MSMEs without any collateral guarantee. This will help the MSMEs to grow, he stated.
In her Budget Speech, Smt. Sitharaman said, “Currently, over 1 crore registered MSMEs, employing 7.5 crore people, and generating 36 per cent of our manufacturing, have come together to position India as a global manufacturing hub.”
With their quality products, these MSMEs are responsible for 45 percent of our exports. To help them achieve higher efficiencies of scale, technological upgradation and better access to capital, the investment and turnover limits for classification of all MSMEs will be enhanced to 2.5 and 2 times respectively. This will give them the confidence to grow and generate employment for our youth, she said.
To improve access to credit, the credit guarantee cover will be enhanced, she announced.
For Micro and Small Enterprises, from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore, leading to additional credit of Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the next 5 years; For Startups, from Rs 10 crore to Rs 20 crore, with the guarantee fee being moderated to 1 per cent for loans in 27 focus sectors important for Atmanirbhar Bharat; and for well-run exporter MSMEs, for term loans up to Rs 20 crore, the FM announced in the Budget.
She further mentioned, “We will introduce customized Credit Cards with a Rs 5 lakh limit for micro enterprises registered on Udyam portal. In the first year, 10 lakh such cards will be issued.”