Engineering sector’s wishlist for Budget 2025: Liquidity, raw materials, and reforms
Budget 2025 approaches, India’s engineering sector, a vital contributor to the nation’s manufacturing and export growth, has outlined a detailed wish list for the government.
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With liquidity challenges, raw material availability, compliance burden, and sustainability at the forefront, industry stakeholders, including the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), highlight critical issues that require immediate government intervention. These reforms, they argue, are crucial to sustaining the sector’s crucial role in India’s export momentum and economic resilience.
Liquidity issues
Arun Shukla, CEO of Himachal Pradesh-based Vikramaditya Engineering, emphasizes the urgent need for liquidity at competitive rates. Highlighting the severe liquidity crunch amid dwindling global demand, he stresses the importance of subsidized interest rates and priority credit allocation. “Sufficient liquidity for projects and working capital should be provided at nominal interest rates. Access to steel and special alloys at competitive prices, along with reserving 50% of PLI scheme subsidies for SMEs, are critical needs the FM must look at,” he states.
Echoing Shukla’s concerns, Arun Kumar Garodia, Managing Director of Corona Steel Industry Pvt. Ltd., underscores the need for global parity in interest rates. “Banks should
