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Need to start industries flagged even as states ask centre to consider extending lockdown
Since the lockdown was announced on March 24, only manufacturing units such as pharmaceuticals or those that form the supply chain for essential items are being permitted to function.
Even as state governments have asked the Centre to consider extending the ongoing lockdown beyond April 14, there is pressure on the latter to allow certain industries to resume operations partially and with caveats to follow the mandatory protocols for health care and social distancing.
Since the lockdown was announced on March 24, only manufacturing units such as pharmaceuticals or those that form the supply chain for essential items are being permitted to function.
According to some BJP MPs, during their interaction with the state administration, the need to restart a certain section of industries, such as food processing, bottling and packaging, and textiles, has been repeatedly flagged.
“There is a concern that with states looking after the essential needs, such as food and ration, and the Centre fast-tracking direct benefit transfers, workers may not return once the lockdown conditions are eased. In that case, there may be a crippling impact in many sectors in the absence of the workforce,” an MP from Bihar said.
The All India Manufacturer’s Association has claimed that 70% of the MSME establishments were unable to pay either fully or partially the wages for March.
The fear that industries will come to a grinding halt if workers show unwillingness to move back is exaggerated said Amitabh Kundu, distinguished fellow at the New Delhi-based think tank Research and Information System for Developing Countries. “These migrants are likely to return once the industries begin operations,” he said.
