While appreciating the emergency measures announced by the Reserve Bank of India, Jammu Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) president Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Friday demanded interest subvention to provide a sigh of relief to the stressed and ailing economic sectors of Jammu and Kashmir.
In a statement issued here, Bukhari said the measures takenby the government of India may have provided a relief to rest of the countrybut these financial relaxations have offered no respite to the strugglingbusinesses and industrial units that are almost defunct especially for the lastone year in Jammu and Kashmir.
“While the emergency measures taken by the Union Finance Ministryare aimed at helping borrowers cope with the economic havoc wreaked by theCovid-19 pandemic, need of the hour is to offer interest subvention in J&Kto address woes of its highly ailing economy,” he demanded.
Bukhari said that in view of the dying economic activity dueto COVID-19 Pandemic, the Union finance ministry should announce an extendedmoratorium of one year on term loans and the cut of date for Jammu and Kashmirfor classification of accounts should be 31-07-2019 on all type of loan accounts,both small and large borrowers.
“There is a dire need for an economic package to counter theeconomic impact of the Covid-19 and all borrowers must be covered in loanrestructuring so that their accounts are not declared as NPAs. There should beat least four quarter moratorium on all type of loans for Jammu & Kashmirand all repayment obligations should be suspended for this period,” the JKAPpresident demanded further.
He said the COVID-19 is proving a threat for almost allbusiness units in J&K of becoming totally defunct. “This is why theinterest subvention along with complete mortatorium of all repayments is muchneeded since businesses in J&K have already incurred huge losses since lastyear and most of units are not generating any considerable income at present,”Bukhari observed.
He said the already announced moratorium period is a firststep for easing out the burden from traders and business community, but theunion finance ministry must put in all efforts to provide interest subventionto important sectors like tourism, horticulture, agriculture, and micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME)manufacturing, amongst others, which will help to bail them out of the presentprecarious economic situation.