NEW DELHI: Delhi Industries Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday said that no or minimal government interference for at least one year will help the industries after the coronavirus pandemic.
Jain asserted that the Delhi government is committed to taking measures for ease of doing business to speed up industrial growth.
“A moratorium of no or minimal government interference for at least a year to help the industry to get back to growth,” said Jain while delivering the keynote address at the Delhi Business Week session hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Jain, who also holds the charge of the health ministry, said that the Delhi government has been taking many steps to help the industry owners in ease of doing business but the coronavirus pandemic has reduced the average demand from the customers.
“Delhi government is committed to taking measures for ease of doing business to catalyse industrial growth. There is a need to create demand for and by the industry to survive the Covid pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic induced uncertainties and insecurities, the average spend or demand from the consumers had drastically reduced,” said Jain during his address at the virtual meet.
“The need of the hour is to work towards building consumer confidence to avoid a long term downward spiralling effect on the industry,” he said. Jain said that the Aam Aadmi Party government has taken many steps to build this confidence by handling the pandemic and retaining key subsidies on essential services like electricity, water and others.
Delhi government recently launched Rozgaar Bazar, an online portal for jobs, which has helped industries in finding their choice of workers. The AAP government has also constituted a special economic revival committee under the Dialogue and Development Corporation (DDC) with members from the industry to help the city get back on track and recover from the financial hit that businesses have taken because of the pandemic. Jain said that going forward, industry approvals and licenses will move solely towards
online platforms, with an endeavour to minimize human interaction and interference.
‘Economy CAN’T Be Shut For eternity’
Satyendar Jain said that the economy “cannot be kept shut for eternity” as livelihoods of millions depend on it. Amidst an atmosphere of anxiety due to the massive surge in Delhi, especially after the coronavirus cases were steadily declining in August, Jain said, “This is once in a century pandemic after the Spanish Flu of 1918. And, people will have to learn to live with COVID-19 as it is not going away so soon”. He added that people should respond with “extreme caution and not panic” and should show responsibility in dealing with the current crisis