The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Tamil Nadu have appealed to the State and Central governments to relax the mandatory norms that they need to adhere to for government orders.Sudhakar Sundaravel, national head of the MSMEs domain of the All India Congress Committee Professional Congress, said the State government should extend delivery timelines for the purchase orders it has issued to four months without invoking the liquidated damages clause. The Centre has issued similar relief measures for its Departments and PSUs.He explained that the 47-lakh registered MSMEs in the State are severely impacted by the geo-political tensions and war situation involving the US–Israel and Iran as there is a steep increase in fuel prices, the Indian rupee is weakening, the global supply chain is disrupted, and raw material prices have increased abnormally.A large number of the MSMEs supply to Central and State governments and public sector undertakings. “The present situation has not only caused substantial input cost escalation, but has also disrupted raw material availability and logistics, thereby affecting production schedules and delivery commitments.As a result, many MSMEs are unable to execute purchase orders within the contractual delivery timelines despite their sincere efforts,” he said.M. Karthikeyan, president of the Coimbatore District Small Industries Association, said the MSMEs face several challenges because of the war. For instance, the repayment of security deposit is extended to 36 months. If a unit has an annual order for ₹20 crore, it gets 5% of the amount as working capital. The 1% of the project cost that is taken as security deposit will be returned not immediately after execution of the order, but after three years, leading to liquidity issues for the MSMEs.Similarly, there are MSMEs that import certain raw materials for some special orders and the supply of these materials is stopped now. So, they are struggling to complete the orders on time. The government should look at these practical difficulties that the MSMEs face, Mr. Karthikeyan said.Mr. Sundaravel also sought measures to control of raw material price escalation, reduction in power tariff, timely release of payments for supplies made, easy availability of affordable finance, and reduction in finance costs. Published - May 26, 2026 07:53 pm IST