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Second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic throws auto SMEs out of gear

Hope rests on exports and festive season accelerating recovery

companies, SMEs, msmes, warehouse, manufacturing, land
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Maharashtra accounts for close to 20 per cent of India’s total vehicle production, and Chakan is a main hub of it with Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, among others, having plants here

Aneesh Phadnis Pune
The automobile hub of Chakan in Pune district is dotted with advertisements offering industrial sheds on rent. But with manufacturing activity in the area having slowed down, there are few takers for them. Salary delays and job losses are common, too, as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) struggle to cope with the impact of the second wave of Covid-19.

“The pandemic has been like a flood. Those who are weak and inefficient have been swept away, while the strong have survived,” says Lalit Kumar Pahwa, managing director of Pahwa Metaltech.

An auto industry veteran, Pahwa started his venture in Chakan