HYDERABAD: In what could turn out to be a major move impacting the State’s economy, the Telangana government is planning to meet the need for skilled workers, borne out of the massive migration of labourers during lockdown, through automation.
Automation, is a labour-saving technology by which a process is performed with minimal human assistance. After lakhs of migrants from States like Odisha and West Bengal left Telangana for their native places, there has been a dearth of labourers in different sectors, even after resumption of activities in early May.
According to K Sudhir Reddy, the president of Telangana Industries Federation which has been tasked by the State government to look after social distancing norms in factories and so on, said: "Although many workers returned after the relaxations were announced, there is still a shortage of around 50 per cent labourers." Recently, around 31 spinning mills from Mahabubabad had complained to the department regarding the same.
"This was when we asked them to conduct a study amongst themselves to see whether there are processes which can be automated. We are asking every sector to conduct a study and identify such processes," Industries Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan said. Ranjan says as of now, this appears to be a viable solution to combat the shortcomings.
Pharma and allied sectors beat the trend
It is important to note that only industries like the pharma sector and allied industries have been working with more than 50 per cent of their manpower throughout the lockdown, which was induced by the outbreak of Covid, as it is categorised under 'essential services'