Businesses seek short-term govt help to survive COVID-19 crisis

As the lockdown to curb COVID-19 spread hit businesses having an inevitable impact on their revenues that will lead to large scale job loss, retail, apparel and restaurant industries on Monday sought short-term government support to survive.

The revival for the apparel and restaurant industries is estimated to be between 9-12 months and to survive these industries expect the government to help for 2-3 months, including the lockdown, the National Restaurant Association of India President Anurag Katriar said in a panel discussion.

Interim support will help businesses survive and also protect jobs of people dependent on them, he stressed.

The operating expenditures in the restaurant business are very high and with revenues almost down to zero, it is becoming difficult to pay salaries to employees, he added.

Katriar stressed the importance of approaching the crisis from a humanitarian, people-focused approach.

It is our responsibility as job providers to ensure that our employees keep their homes running. If someone loses their job during this time, it might be difficult to get a new one, at least for a while. The industry will collapse if no help comes our way soon.

"We need the government to give us the tools to live to fight another day. We need a substantial stimulus package. There have been some policy changes on the anvil for a while; now would be a good time to implement them, he added.

He also suggested measures such as relaxing the tax burden on businesses, allowing the withdrawal of provident fund up to Rs 3 lakh and deferring statutory payments.

Meanwhile, Clothing Manufacturer Association of India Chief Mentor Rahul Mehta opined that apparel businesses could face revenue losses of up to 40 per cent and many small and medium players in the apparel industry are contemplating the closure of the business.

Unless the government provides timely assistance, there could be a loss of almost a crore of jobs across the entire textile chain, he added.

Mehta pointed out that almost 80 per cent of the garments industry falls under MSME business category, which is more on the micro business side than any other, and would, therefore, be impacted much harder.

Wage subsidy is one possible solution to retain workers and I hope that the government will help with providing working capital and an incentive package to restart the industry, he added.

Retailers Association of India CEO Kumar Rajagopalan pointed out that the shutting down of marginal businesses would have a multiplier effect on allied sectors.

Rajagopalan expressed concern that, without support, many of the small apparel businesses and retailers might have to shut shop.

Businesses should also explore alternate means of financing, he said adding that the government can also help the industries waiving property tax and minimum charges for electricity and easing of licensing norms.

Various industry associations need to work closely as they are facing the same issues working capital and retention of people. There's a strong case for collaborating and leveraging each other's resources, both during these times and after, he added.