To help industries in the last quarter of the fiscal, the Reserve Bank of India should consider a cut in the interest rates, said T.K. Chand, Chairman of CII Visakhapatnam Zone and Director (Commercial) Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd.
There is a need for a re-look at the monetary policy as the liquidity crunch was affecting industrial growth, he said addressing media here on Wednesday.
Referring to the power problems, he said the industry leaders want the Government to explore purchasing surplus power from captive power plants and supplying it to other consumers rather than penalise the power generators.
In this context, he pointed out the case of Steel Exchange India Ltd (SEIL) which was in a position to supply 30 MW to the grid but was instead being penalised for supplying power.
In fact some of the industries had volunteered to pay wheeling charges for the supply of the power from SEIL, past chairman of the CII-Vizag Zone GS Shiv Kumar said, but it was not taken up. The surplus power from SEIL could meet the demand of the IT units in the region, he added.
On the other hand, penalties for drawing power over and above the restrictions imposed by the State power regulator were hurting the industry, Chand said. He requested the Government to waive the penalty amount as a one-time relief for the industries which were struggling due to poor market conditions.
The CII Vizag Zone was keen to support the Government in improving schools in remote areas and also increasing the employability of engineers and students of ITIs.