Coimbatore : The joint council of MSME Associations here Friday appealed to the Centre to take steps to remove the fear of uncertainty among the business community as consumption is not happening due to Covid-19 since the industries are working with 50 per cent capacity at the moment.

In a representation to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Finance Minister, Nirmala Seetharaman, the copy of which was released at a press conference here, the associations wanted the Government to operate pubic transports like Rail, Road and Air in a normal way and introduce special trains to bring back the migrant workers.

The council requested the Centre to introduce immediate steps to support MSME sector for their early revival as this has come after an already slow economy, wherein many invested heavily and leveraged completely and now the lock down due to the effect of covid-19, has hit the MSMEs badly.

The steps required to revive the MSMEs include extension of moratorium period for interest payment, all existing loans up to March 31 next and considering revisit the GST to increase consumption, it said.

The signatories to the representation include the local heads of 10 major associations like Coimbatore District Small Industries Association, CII and Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.