Exporters urge govt to implement DPIIT suggestions to resume limited economic activities

Exporters' body FIEO on Monday urged the home ministry to implement suggestions made by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to resume limited activity in certain identified industries with reasonable safeguards.

The DPIIT in a series of recommendations to the Ministry of Home Affairs has suggested to permit limited activity in certain sectors such as heavy electricals and telecom equipment, with reasonable safeguards.

Welcoming the suggestions, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Sharad Kumar Saraf said the list of industries, recommended by the DPIIT, has been carefully made to help in slowly bringing the economy on track.

"Opening of all export industries, large as well as MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) including SEZs (special economic zones) and EOUs (export-oriented units), will help the exporters execute whatever little orders remain with them after huge cancellations in the last two months," he said in a statement.

This will also send the right signal to overseas buyers that the situation is fast normalising in India encouraging them to further place orders, he said.

He said free movement of vehicles and manpower required for such activities is the most pragmatic one and so is operationalisation of transportation throughout the length and breadth of the country.

Saraf assured the government that industry will adhere to sanitisation and social distancing norms for the health and safety of workers.

"The Ministry of Home Affairs should immediately issue the order to put the recommendation into practice which will be a saviour of the economy while simultaneously helping the industry as well as workers," he added.

According to the DPIIT recommendations, certain industries which can be permitted to start with minimum manpower and proper sanitation and distancing norms/safeguards on a single shift basis include telecom equipment and components including optical fibre cable; compressor and condenser units; steel and ferrous alloy mills; spinning and ginning mills, power looms; defence; cement plants; pulp and paper units; fertilizer plants; paints; plastic; automotive units; gems and jewellery; and all units in SEZs and EOUs.

The 21-day lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in place from March 25 in a bid to halt the spread of coronavirus and is scheduled to end on Tuesday.

Five states, Telangana, Maharashtra, Punjab, Odisha and Tamil Nadu, have already extended the coronavirus lockdown in their respective territories till April 30.