To fulfill the oxygen requirement in view of the pandemic & counter the shortage of oxygen in the third wave that is being predicted by the experts,Maharashtra Govt has come with the Oxygen Policy of Maharashtra which got notified on 21st May 2021.
Presently there is a imbalance in the oxygen manufacturing plants in various parts of Maharashtra as well as there is a shortage of medical oxygen during the peak time.The scheme offers 150 % of incentives of the total project cost as well as capital subsidy to the Liquid Manufacturing Oxygen(LMO) plants above 25 MT/day capacity.
Chairman of COSIA CA Julfesh Shah said that COSIA team has analyzed the policy & discussed with the prospective unit owners.On going through the detailed & minute analysis of the policy,it was found that some improvements & amendments were needed to make the policy more attractive & fulfill the targets set by the Govt .Of Maharashtra.
A memorandum of suggestions in this regard with due justifications was submitted to Jt Director of Industries,Nagpur Shri Ashok Dharmadhikari by COSIA,Vidarbha led by Chairman CA Julfesh Shah.
The suggestions highlighted various issues like smaller units manufacturing Liquid Medical Oxygen(LMO) upto 25 MT /Day, no capital subsidy is offered in the scheme which may prove to be de-motivating factor for the upcoming MSME LMO units.Hence it needs a re-thinking in the policy,said CA Shah.
Also the proposed smaller units upto 25 MT /Day capacity will not be able to claim the full quantum of the yearly eligible claim as the number of years are restricted to 7 only for MSME units and incentives offered are 150 % of eligible FCI in Vidarbha.Also interest subvention @5% is restricted to twice the amount of electricity bills paid in a year.
Hence it will be extremely difficult to avail the full incentive claims with yearly cap.So to overcome this practical difficulty the number of years can be increased to atleast 10 years or even more than that which will make it more lucrative & promising for the MSME units,said CA Shah.Another issue is that the units which propose to go in for oxygen cylinders manufacturing only are not offered Capital Subsidy.
As Oxygen Cylinders are equally important for the storage of oxygen,it is no doubt an integral part of the LMO units & such units need to be given a booster by way of SCI as offered to LMO units as CAPEX for such units is quite high, explained Shah.The policy guidelines doesn’t specifically mention anything about the pure oxygen re-filling units.In smaller/remote areas,there are very few takers for the LMOs plant as capital investment is quite higher.
So in such places small entrepreneurs prefer to come with re-filling plant which requires less investment.But such small re-filling units will ensure the smooth supply of oxygen in rural areas during peak requirement period.Shri.G.O.Bharti,Jt.Director of Industries, Amravati,Shri Pranav Ambaselkar & Shri Sharad Agrawal of COSIA were present during the occasion.
