MSMEs will benefit from the stimulus package announced by the Hon’ble Finance Minister yesterday out of total package of Rupees 20 Lakh Crores announced by your goodself. About 45 Lacs small businesses in the MSME sector will be benefitted by this package and about 75 Lacs employees will be benefitted with the EPF scheme.
But, sorry to say that the Service Sector Industry which consists of about 25 types of services like Information Technology, Hospitality, Travel, Transportation, Media, Entertainment, Sports, Healthcare, Wellness, Finance, Insurance, Professional Services, Consulting & Staffing, Design, Marketing & Sales, Energy, Management, Information, Markets, Retail, E-commerce, Culture, Education, Asset Rentals Product, as a service etc. has not been taken care of.
Here I am making my concern about Professional Services:
– The services of a recognised professional such as a Lawyer, Accountant, Company Secretaries, Chartered Accountants, Cost Accountants, Surveyors, Architects etc.
– Offering knowledge and labour as a service
– Management services such as asset management, human resources or facility management.
There are about 20 Lac Lawyers, 2.82 Lacs CA’s, 50000 CS’s, 85,000 Cost Accountants, 91,000 Architects, 9,500 Surveyors in India making a total of about 26.03 Lacs. Even, if, we deduct about 1.03 Lacs employed professionals, then it remains about 25 Lacs practising professionals who are directly affected by Covide-19 lockdown/ Curfew.
25.00 LACS IS NOT A SMALL NUMBER.
Why the Government has so far not considered a big package for these professionals including giving direct benefit and soft loans for four years at Nil or meagre interest so that they can also save themselves and the country by following the rules in letter and spirit. They don’t have the facility of EPF/ ESI/ Insurance where the Government is contributing.