Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, on January 14, announced special concessions and interest-free loans to small, medium and micro industries, besides vendors affected by the recent floods in the State.

In a statement at Chennai, she said street vendors selling flowers, fruits and vegetables, besides those running small shops had lost their investments in the floods. They would be given Rs 5,000 interest-free loans through cooperative banks, she said and added that the State government would pay the 11 per cent interest to the banks.

Further, the Electricity Board would bear the cost of fitting new meters at the companies that were affected by the floods.

Those companies which received aid from the Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation would be given a moratorium of one to two years for repaying the principal amount of the loans.

Loans would be given to repair or buy new machines. The companies which had repaid the loans till October 31, 2015 would be exempted from penalty for six months or till they resume their works, whichever is the earliest.

She further said that the infrastructure of industrial estates would be repaired at a cost of Rs 25 crore.

Source: The New Indian Express