COIMBATORE: Associations of micro, small and medium enterprises in Coimbatore have termed the Tamil Nadu govt’s 2026-27 budget “disappointing,” stating that key long-pending demands — especially reductions in electricity fixed and demand charges — were not addressed despite allocations for power infrastructure and MSME financing.The Tamilnadu Association of Cottage and Micro Enterprises said the budget’s power sector allocations, including Rs 4,000 crore for the Coimbatore–Ariyalur 765 kV transmission corridor, Rs 1,543 crore for 178 new substations and Rs 2,000 crore for replacing 40,000 old transformers, were welcome. The association said the absence of an announcement to reduce fixed charges from Rs 170 to Rs 35 was a “major disappointment” for micro and small units.The association said the budget had not included announcements on creating industrial estates exclusively for micro enterprises, setting up a raw material bank to protect industry or establishing a separate board for micro enterprises. MSME expectations were largely unmet.M Jayabal, president of the Recycle Textile Federation, said the sector had expected the budget to address the demands of Tamil Nadu’s 4.8 million MSME entrepreneurs. He said industry bodies were looking for a 50% cut in fixed charges as “they had risen by nearly 480%,” a 50% cut in demand charges and a waiver of solar network charges. He said these measures were among election campaign commitments with assurances of early implementation, and their absence added to financial pressure on MSMEs.The Coimbatore Compressor Industrial Association said the budget opened with an “attractive” goal of taking Tamil Nadu’s gross output to $1.5 trillion by 2036, but lacked transformative, new and concrete initiatives required to reach the target. The association welcomed focus on youth welfare, employment, education modernisation and student facilities, but said the Rs 2,142 crore MSME outlay was inadequate and that the budget had not announced power tariff relief or measures to make doing business easier.
