New Delhi, February 16 The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) said on Monday that it has requested the Reserve Bank of India to introduce a special interest package scheme for MSMEs.
AEPC Chairman A Sakthivel said that he met Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra in Mumbai and requested a separate export policy for the MSME sector.
Currently, banks determine lending rates based on their internal policies and balance sheet considerations, leading to inconsistencies and higher borrowing costs, he said.
In his representation, Sakthivel said that a large number of apparel exporters across India, predominantly MSMEs, face several operational and regulatory difficulties, particularly in their interactions with Authorised Dealer (AD) Banks, export finance systems, and compliance frameworks.
"The MSME sector faces challenges like high interest rates on loans, increasing the cost of borrowing, and affecting competitiveness," he said, adding that lending rates are closely linked to CIBIL scores, which places small enterprises and first-time exporters at a disadvantage.
"A dedicated Special Interest Package Scheme be introduced for MSMEs," he suggested.
He urged the RBI to consider issuing appropriate regulatory guidelines to ensure fair, transparent, and uniform lending practices for MSMEs, thereby improving credit accessibility.
The chairman also requested to solve the export finance constraints and increase the subsidy rate under the Interest Equalisation Scheme from the existing 2.75 per cent to 5 per cent for manufacturing exporters.
