Pay 70% of MSMEs’ wage bill for next three months: Cong.

Party asks Centre to come up with ₹1 lakh crore package

31/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,NEW DELHI

The Congress on Monday asked the Union government to pay 70% of the wage bill of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for next three months and make it mandatory for the employers not to retrench their employees.

Party president Sonia Gandhi also formed a central control room at Congress headquarters to monitor the ground situation with regard to the spread of the COVID-19.

In a series of tweets, former Finance Minister P. Chidamabaram demanded a bold new Financial Assistance Package immediately.

Addressing an online press conference, Congress spokesperson Prof. Gourav Vallabh said there are 4.25 crore MSMEs that contribute around 29% to India’s GDP and employ about 45 crore people. “One month of the wage bill is around ₹50,000 crore and for three months, it will be around ₹1.50 lakh crore. So,70% of the same works out to approximately ₹1 lakh crore,”said Prof. Vallabh.

The Congress spokesperson also suggested that truck drivers be given advance payment to ensure that the supply of essentials are not affected. “There are approximately 30 lakh truck drivers in our country whose burden will be around ₹25,000 crore,” he said.

Talking about the exodus of workers leaving cities, he said, “Central government should form a law stating that there shall be no retrenchment in any sector or company whatsoever for the next 6 months, applicable to every company/enterprise.”