E-Paper
Covid curbs see drop in Pune industrial production levels in April: MCCIA survey
Of the 150 companies from Pune district covered in the 13th survey, level of production has decreased from 83% in March to 69% in April
PUNE Even as state government allowed industrial units to function during lockdown, stricter curbs have resulted in bringing production levels of firms, surveyed by the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) in April, down.
In its 13th survey, 150 companies from Pune district who participated in the exercise said that their current level of production has decreased from 83% in March to 69% in April, on an average.
The production level had seen a dip of 2% in March from 85% in February, as the month had seen only partial restrictions, that too in some parts of the state.
As Covid cases saw a massive spike across the state including Pune and Mumbai, the state government, on April 15, imposed a curfew and allowed only essential services apart from industrial units and the real estate sector, to function.
Sudhir Mehta, president, MCCIA said, “Supply chains are once again disrupted and we are really concerned about the small, informal manufacturers and contact-based services. The government at the centre and state must front-load their allocations for MSMEs, industries and infrastructure development in FY 21-22.”
Despite a drop in production, industrial firms managed to keep it above the level of April 2020, when the entire country was under lockdown and only units engaged production of essential items were allowed to function.
“Given the heightened levels of restrictions, the drop was expected. Glad that the drop is not as bad as it was in April 2020. God forbid if there is any more contribution of restrictions, it needs to come along with an increased level of economic activities as impact on livelihoods for those who work at the bottom of the economic pyramid is unbearable,” said Prashant Girbane, director general, MCCIA.
The units that participated in the survey said that on average, the number of employees working has decreased from 86% in March to 70% in April.
The surveyed companies were also asked about when their production levels were expected to go back to pre-pandemic levels. Twenty-four per cent of the companies said their production was already at pre-Covid levels; 19% of the respondents now said that they expect their production levels to go back to pre-Covid levels in less than three months; and 35% of the respondents said they expect it to take between three and six months; while 22% said it would take more than six months.
According to MCCIA, the profile organisations surveyed from micro, small, medium and large scale organisations was 14%, 34%, 21% and 32%, respectively. Also, 66% of the organisations surveyed were from the manufacturing sector, 14% from the services sector and the rest were involved in both manufacturing and services.
