Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has welcomed Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharman's decision to leave more money in the hands of individuals / companies, in the first set of measures announced by her, as a part of Rs 20 lakh crore economic package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make India self-reliant.

Sakthivel, however, requested the government to extend the benefit under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) for payment of 12 per cent of employer and 12 per cent employee contributions towards EPF accounts, which is extended by another three months till August 2020, to cover all the apparel exporting units as they are highly labour intensive with a huge women workforce.

Welcoming the announcements related to MSMEs, Sakthivel said the facility of Rs 3 lakh crore collateral-free automatic loans for businesses, including MSMEs, will help many businesses get over the liquidity crunch and lack of working capital due to disruptions brought in by the pandemic and resultant lockdown. Sakthivel thanked the finance minister for widening the definition of MSMEs in terms of investment and turnover, as this will enable many of the better doing MSMEs to continue taking benefit of schemes meant for MSMEs.

Other measures to improve the liquidity in the economy like Rs 30,000 crore liquidity facility for NBFCs/HCs/MFIs, Rs 90,000 crore liquidity injection for power discoms and increasing money in the hands of the people through Rs 50,000 crore liquidity via TDS and TCS reductions will go a long way in getting the economy back on tracks, he said.