PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) in association with the State Bank of India (SBI) organised an outreach programme in Amritsar to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Punjab that have been affected by COVID pandemic.
‘SBI-PHDCCI Industry Roundtable Meet’ at Amritsar was attended by the key policymakers from SBI and Punjab’s industries to ideate the way forward for ever closer cooperation between SBI and industry entities in the state to support the economic fundamentals and strengthen the business ecosystem, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in a statement on Saturday.
“In the post-pandemic times, it was one of the early interventions for supporting Punjab’s SMEs and exporters. The deliberations of Meet are expected to help the state’s industry units to directly explore the financing and other banking services available with SBI in Punjab,” it said.
Speaking at the occasion Anukool Bhatnagar, SBI’s Chief General Manager, Chandigarh Local Headquarter & Head-Nepal Desk, said SBI is open for meeting the financing requirements of Punjab’s industries of all sizes (SMEs and large corporates).
Bhatnagar assured the industry participants attending the meet about SBI’s unwavering support for their businesses and Punjab’s development at large.
Atul K Thakur, Joint Secretary, State Development Council & Nodal Coordinator, India-Nepal Centre, PHDCCI, said PHDCCI in collaboration with SBI has planned a series of the outreach programme to help businesses, especially the SMEs, who have been badly affected by the COVID pandemic.
“A change in approach is much needed at this point of time, before the fundamentals of the world order go in reset mode, there should be determination to revive the SMEs financing to support the much-needed demand factor of the economy,” Thakur said.