Deferment of the selective opening of industry disappointing: Sharad Kumar Saraf, President, FIEO

Reacting to the announcement made by the Prime Minister today regarding the extension of the lockdown till 3rd May and the adoption of a 7-point charter by each citizen, Sharad Kumar Saraf said that these steps are extremely important to fight Covid-19. Additionally, he complimented the Prime Minister for leading the country's fight against Coronavirus from the front, like a true statesman.

However, President FIEO expressed his disappointment with the deferment of the decision to extend the selective opening of the manufacturing sector, particularly regarding exports. Non-adherence to the delivery schedule for exports will result in cancellation, penalties and market loss, besides the business loss to enterprises. The exporters, particularly MSME exporters, have no liquidity to pay wages for the month of April as they are unable to conduct any business activity during the lockdown.

He also said that the shifting of the goalpost will not help in avoiding the stark realities which we have to face whenever we open. The start of selective manufacturing will also be a long drawn battle due to the unavailability of labour, raw material, transport etc. which will resume normalcy only after a few months of selective opening. Even countries such as Spain, one of the worst affected nations, have started opening the economy to bring it on track.

President FIEO demanded that a comprehensive economic package may be announced to help the economy, with interest free credit to cover six months of wages, rental and utilities along with a moratorium to repay in installments after six months. Without such support, the government should not expect the industry to pay wages during the lockdown and any coercive action to bring about the same will only be counterproductive.

Sharad Kumar Saraf said that he salutes the export community, which despite such loss and bleak future, is providing groceries, masks and medical help to the community, particularly the poor sections, as urged by the Prime Minister.

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