Incentives / Subsidies : A boon for businesses
1. In today’s competitive environment, industrial subsidies are not merely “government benefits”; they are boardroom tools that can directly strengthen profitability, cash flow and return on capital employed. For entrepreneurs in Maharashtra, & particularly in the MMRDA & PMRDA Region, where land, rentals, salaries and utilities are major cost drivers, timely identification and disciplined claiming of subsidies can convert an otherwise marginal project into a bankable, scalable venture & can prove to be a strategic value creating projects if considered at the project-planning stage itself.
For granting industrial subsidies, Govt. of Maharashtra is providing support to specific industrial activities identified as a priority sector & thrust sector activities & the said list consists of units involved in manufacturing of 1) Advanced Materials, 2) Aerospace, Defence, Space Tech, Nuclear Tech and Shipbuilding, 3) Agro and Food Processing, 4) Automotive and Auto Components, 5) Battery and Energy Storage, 6) Chemicals and Petrochemicals, 7) Gems & Jewellery (including lab grown gems), 8) Machinery & Equipment Manufacturing, 9) Mineral-Based Industries, 10) Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, Med-Tech & Lifesciences, 11) Semi-Conductors Fabrication (FAB) including ESDM, 12) Smart Manufacturing (Industry 4.0 & 5.0), 13) Sustainable Manufacturing and Circular Economy, 14) Textile & Apparel (including Technical Textile, Sustainable Fabrics), 15) Solar Wafers, Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia, 16) Footwear and Leather Products.
The above are priority sector business activities. However, an eligible unit can still obtain subsidy benefits even if the finished product of manufacturing unit is out side the above priority sector activities.
Moreover, these benefits are available to all scale of fixed capital investments set up in Maharashtra – be it micro / small / medium / large / mega / ultra mega scale & that too for new plants as well as for expansion of manufacturing capacities of existing plants.
Also, units engaged in certain service industries viz. units in 1) IT & ITeS Industry, 2) Tourism (including agri tourism & resorts), 3) GLOBAL Capability Centre (GCC), 4) Fintech Policy, 5) Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics-Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) Policy are entitled subsidy benefits.
Moreover, for some eligible activities, women entrepreneurs or entrepreneurs with disabilities or SC / ST Entrepreneurs, units in agri-food product manufacturing line can get some additional subsidy benefits also.
The amount of subsidy that a unit can get as well as the time period within which the entitled subsidy benefit is to be consumed by the respective unit depends on combination of number of factors like location, investment scale of the unit, employment generated by the unit, finished product of the unit etc.
The eligible unit can get subsidy (incentives) in the form of 1) stamp duty exemption on a) purchase of factory land deed b) bank term loan mortgage deed, 2) refund of SGST Output, 3) bank term loan interest subsidy, 4) power tariff subsidy, 5) exemption of electricity duty, 6) cash subsidy etc. etc.
The real message is clear : subsidy planning must precede project implementation. Factors like location of the unit, first / subsequent holder of MIDC plot, constitution, ownership, fund raising pattern, owned factory premise / lease factory premises, lease / conveyance timing and capex phasing, mix of employment, local hiring, export turnover, DSIR recognition, sector classification, asset invoices, first sale documentation etc. etc. can all influence eligibility.
In short, be it Andheri MIDC or Wagle Industrial Estate of Chakan MIDC or Navi Mumbai IT / ITeS units hub or any part of Maharashtra, your industrial unit / services providing unit may be eligible to get good amount of subsidy. & as these subsidies are not supposed to be repaid back to Govt., it directly adds to the bottom line of the business leading to healthy cash flow & financial position of an organization.
