File picture of a labourer making aluminium plates
File picture of a labourer making aluminium plates

Not just essentials; construction sector also wants to restart business

According to KPMG, projects worth more than Rs 59,000 billion are under development across India, most of which would have been impacted severely by COVID-19.

CHENNAI: Industries in Tamil Nadu are hoping that by Thursday, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami would provide some clarity on measures to be followed during the extended lockdown phase. B C Datta, Convenor, Ease of Doing Business Panel at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Tamil Nadu, said discussions are ongoing with the State government on procedures that need to be followed to bring the workforce back.   

“We are looking at all options as further delays can be financially stressful,” says Datta. “There are clear guidelines available for pharma and agriculture, but there is a lack of clarity on automobiles as it’s the only unit where vendors also have to restart production.” CII State Chairman Hari Thiagarajan has welcomed the Centre’s guidelines, saying it was extremely relevant for current times.    

“CII welcomes the strategic relaxation of key economic activities from 20 April, as opening of manufacturing facilities in rural areas will provide a lot of relief to small enterprises and workers,” he said. Ramkumar Ramamoorthy, President of The Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) said that keeping the engines of the economy running is important to balance both lives and livelihood.

“It is important that the industries behave responsibly during this period as they shoulder an equal if not bigger responsibility to make the lockdown exit seamless and scalable,” he said.Meanwhile, Confederation of Real estate Developers Association of India has urged the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister to also allow the construction sector get back to work.

According to KPMG, projects worth more than Rs 59,000 billion are under development across India, most of which would have been impacted severely by COVID-19. Meanwhile, Forum for IT Employees (FITE) has raised concern over the centre allowing IT industry to function with 50 per cent of workforce.

“IT companies are working in centralized air conditioned rooms which has all the possibilities of becoming the hot spot of corona virus spread as metro cities and municipal corporations like Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune are in the corona virus affected red zones,” said Parimala, president of Forum for IT Employees (FITE).

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