Outlook English - Print Subscribers Copy Outlook English, 26 February 2018

IT’S A DIFFICULT DRILL PUMP MANUFACTURING Units FOUNDRIES Units WET GRINDERS Units 1,104 600 700 Annual turnover Annual turnover Annual turnover Employment Employment Employment `2,150 cr `40 lakh 1.04 lakh `300 cr 2,000 70,000 Total registered MSME units 71,142 LIGHT ENGINEERING Units 25,000 ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS Units JEWELLERY Units 2,053 1,600 Annual turnover Annual turnover Annual turnover Employment Employment Employment `300 cr 75,000 `1,455 cr 35,000 `9,000 cr 1.80 lakh Graphic by SAJI C.S. of electrical and non-electrical machines. these units in bookkeeping and making “These units dealt solely in cash. Dem them computer-savvy,” says Pricol chair- onetisation forced many of them to man Vanitha Mohan, who heads the transact through banks,” he discloses. Coimbatore chapter of Indian Chamber “Post the GST, they also come under the of Commerce. “They must thrive for us tax net since the manufacturers demand bigger manufacturers to survive.” Resilience has been a feature of riverine proper billing. The transition is hurting Coimbatore, which is the state’s second- them, they’re fighting it back.” But industries are adapting fast, as no largest city (after Chennai) . At the height one wants to lose business. Bigger play- of a power crisis in 2009 and ’10, smaller ers are going out of the way to ensure that units went together to invest in shared the GST doesn’t buffet the micro and power generators and operated in shifts small units that are integral to their so that no unit needed to close down. supply chain. “We are lending our acco “True, our turnover and profits dipped as unting experience to them, training our full production cycle was not met but Demonetisation slowed down my machines. GST has shut them down. God knows when they will spring back to life... Not only has the GST pushed up steel cost, I have to now borrow from local moneylenders to pay my GST by the 20th of every month. J. JAMES Manufacturer of pump parts PRATHAP SEKAR Owner, small machining unit we at least did not allow our machines to rust for lack of power,” points out R. Ramamurthy, vice president of the 1969-founed CODISSIA. Ultimately, GST would create a more level playing field, as everyone will be paying taxes and transparency would improve efficiency, argues M. Ramji, a chartered accountant. “The GST infra- structure needs to be strengthened, as the GSTN is in a perennial state of hang- ing. Once the E-way bill kicks in, it can get only worse unless the network picks up,” he points out. Also, the irritants surrounding the E-way bill, such as the movement of unfinished goods, need to be addressed. “How can you impose a 50-km limit within which unfinished goods will not carry an invoice?” Ramji argues. “Coimbatore’s industrial belt extends up to 80 km on all sides. Such impractical rules will kill the industry.” Unfazed by the GST hiccups, local industrialists are already planning big for the future. Recently, the Centre anno unced a Rs 20-crore fund to set up a defence manufacturing innovation cen- tre in Coimbatore, where the MSMEs can design and make prototypes for the defence industry. “The necessary skills and technology are available here. What we need are greater opportunities,” says Sundaram. “If such innovations lead to a defence park in the long run, Coimbatore will be flying high.” O 26 February 2018 OUTLOOK 53

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