Covid-19: Cong gets 60k responses on MSMEs, set to invite tips on other key issues

Buoyed by the general public response to its request for strategies on the revival of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector, the Congress is all set to ask the views of the individuals on different key points confronting the nation because of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

A senior Congress functionary mentioned the get together obtained round 60,000 responses from the individuals on its totally different social media platforms for an financial stimulus bundle for MSMEs hit laborious by the nationwide lockdown being carried out to include the coronavirus pandemic.

“This was a very successful experiment and we are going to replicate it on other issues. This overwhelming response to our initiative also reflects that the people who don’t want to speak in public space wrote to us in private,” he added.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had launched the get together’s on-line marketing campaign for the revival of MSMEs on April 22.

“Covid-19 has devastated our micro, small and medium businesses (MSME). The Congress party needs your help. Send us suggestions and ideas for what a MSME economic stimulus package should cover on voiceofmsme.in or in our social media platforms,” Gandhi tweeted utilizing the hashtag “HelpSaveSmallBusinesses”.

The strategies had been then assessed by the Congress’ newly shaped consultative group, headed by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and a few of these had been included in get together chief Sonia Gandhi’s letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 25.

In her letter, she urged the Prime Minister to announce an instantaneous Rs 1 lakh crore “wage protection” bundle and a credit score assure fund of an equal quantity for the revival of MSMEs, warning that if issues of the sector usually are not addressed it may have a devastating impact on the nation’s economic system.

MSMEs contributed shut to 1 third of the nation’s gross home product (GDP) and accounted for nearly 50% of exports and employed over 11 crore individuals, she mentioned, including that at this second, with out acceptable help, greater than 6.three crore MSMEs stand on the verge of financial destroy.

“It was Rahul Gandhi’s idea and he is actually driving this initiative himself,” mentioned the Congress functionary quoted above.

“We are now seeking public suggestions through our social media properties on other important issues confronting the nation in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis – be it the freeze on dearness allowance of central government employees and pensioners or the problems faced by stranded migrant workers,” he added.

The Congress can be planning to hunt authorized recourse to the federal government’s transfer to freeze the dearness allowance of Central authorities workers and pensioners, and is presently within the technique of drafting a petition on the difficulty.

Terming it an “insensitive and inhumane” determination, the Congress insisted that the federal government ought to have as a substitute suspended the bullet practice and Central Vista beautification initiatives costing “lakhs of crores of rupees” to the state exchequer.

The authorities on April 23 froze from January 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, the inflation-linked allowance for its 1.1 crore workers and pensioners, a transfer states are more likely to replicate, serving to save round Rs 1.2 lakh crore that may very well be used to battle the pandemic.

“If the government cuts its own wasteful expenses by 30%, it could yield around Rs 2.5 lakh crore and that amount could be used in paying the dearness allowance and relief for employees, pensioners and defence personnel who are at the forefront in the fight against deadly coronavirus,” Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala had mentioned.