Uncertainty looms large over MSMEs

Apr 29, 2020, 04:51 IST

Coimbatore: After more than a month of stalled operations due to the lockdown, uncertainty looms large over medium and small industries (MSMEs) in the district. With a likelihood of the lockdown getting extended, industry representative said they are adopting a wait-and-watch approach for now.
They said even if they are allowed to start operations, they are not sure whether the orders they had before the lockdown would still be valid. So does the prospect of guest workers leaving for homes post-lockdown loom large as another threat.
Even after submitting successive petitions and representations, the Centre has not announced any relief for them, they said. Though chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, on Monday seeking the Centre support for MSMEs to pay salaries and other dues, has come as a ray of hope, they said even with hand-holding from the Centre, it would take around six months for the industry to get on its feet.
Starting manufacturing operations immediately was necessary for the sector’s survival, said R Ramamurthy, president of Coimbatore District Small Scale Industries Association (Codissia). But he added starting operations after the lockdown would be like starting a firm from scratch. “We could start only with 30% to 50% of our workforce. It would take six months at least to get back on track, three months to nurture and three to grow. We could stabilise only by December,” he said.
Along with manufacturing sector, he said, allied sectors such as raw materials and tools should be allowed to function all over the country. “For example, some industries might have to get raw materials from Delhi or Mumbai. Only if they get that, they can function,” he said.
Orders were one of the things they were not sure about, said P Nallathambi, president of the Coimbatore Sidco Industrial Estate Manufacturer’s Welfare Association (Cosiema). Only after they start working they would come to know whether their orders still stand or they have been cancelled, he said.
As for labourers, Nallathambi said they would look to retain their workforce, but would be able to engage only a part of them at a time. “Working on lesser capacity, we might have to engage parts of our workforce in rotation basis,” he said.
Another crisis MSMEs may face, said J James, president of president of Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Tiny Enterprises (TACT), was that guest workers from other states would want to visit their hometowns after the lockdown is lifted. “They have already started asking to be let to go homes after the lockdown. They might take a while to return and this might be a problem,” he said.