KOCHI: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has appealed to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to ensure smooth functioning of industries during the nation-wide general strike scheduled on March 28 and 29. In a letter to the chief minister, CII said all MSME units -- trade, industry and services -- are reeling under the economic pressure created by a series of lockdowns in the wake of the pandemic.
Business loans have increased but there is no adequate business to service the loans, the industry body pointed out. “The immediate future will see NPAs rising with all financial institutions,” CII said in the letter. Industries have already lost many man-days to the pandemic, which has severely impacted economic activities in the state, the industry body noted.
“Though the government has relaxed restrictions in many ways, the impact of the lockdown on the economy is likely to be long-term,” the letter said. As industries are slowly returning to normal, and resuming operations, any disruption during the nationwide strike will impact industrial activities further, CII warned.
“Hence, the strike by political parties should be restricted in such a way that normal life and business are not affected under any circumstance,” CII said. “The Government of Kerala is looking for an improvement in the EODB (ease of doing business) ranking and this small step will boost the confidence of the business community at large,” CII said.