NMCC to propose setting up public funded equity fund to govt

New Delhi: To extend timely and adequate credit to micro, small and medium enterprises, the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) will propose setting up of public funded equity fund to the government.

The NMCC will also suggest the government to prune around 44 labour and factory laws to enable industry, especially in its mid and small segments to escape uncalled for bureaucratic intervention in their day-to-day operations and manufacturing to progress smoothly, NMCC Member Secretary Ajay Shankar said. "The new government should be able to condense the new labour laws into three categories that will address the labour concerns relating to their safety and security, their legitimate rights to work and provide them welfare," Shankar said at a conference here.

Elaborating on pruning of labour and factory laws to just three from existing number of close to 44, the Member Secretary said that the Council's recommendation to this effect has gone to the government recently. The new labour laws should facilitate foreign investors to park their surpluses in India with an atmosphere of putting up manufacturing facilities in which the role of government is bare minimum, Shankar stressed.

On the issue of public funded equity fund, Shankar said the Council would soon propose to the new government to set up such funds to accelerate manufacturing, especially in the medium and small scale industries, to grant them financial assistance. He also demanded that the new government should be able to create an eco-system in which manufacturing is accelerated as in the absence of sound eco-system, the manufacturing has fallen to a negative zone in the last couple of years.