Power outage in the time of sowing: Jalandhar MSMEs' new struggle

Jalandhar has been in the midst of much disruption. This ground report, concluding the power crisis series, looks at MSMEs and their issues

With the Covid-19 pandemic showing signs of ebbing and economic activity picking up, factory owners in Jalandhar had hoped that the worst was over. However, the heat wave in April and extensive power cuts that came with it, have crushed their hopes. The city’s large number of micro, medium and small enterprises (MSMEs) are now gearing up for yet another struggle, this time to survive with the shortage of power that is severely impacting their operations.  

Jalandhar is an exporters' hub, which produces a range of goods such as leather products, sport equipment, hand tools, and so on. At Focal Point,