PremiumAs cases of Covid-19 infections in Karnataka shows signs of decline, industry bodies like the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) have requested the state government to consider opening manufacturing units, with all safety measure in place.
The request was made to start supply of export orders as further delay could result in substantial losses for companies, at a time when the domestic market remains almost closed due to regional lockdowns.
A team comprising Kamal Bali, former chairman of CII, Karnataka, T R Parasuraman, president, Bangalore Chamber of Commerce and Satish Machani, chairman, ACMA, Karnataka, today met the Chief Minister to appraise him of the situation and assured him that all appropriate strict Covid-19 protocols will be followed by the industries. They also informed him that companies will continue to help the state with their Corporate Social Responsibility related activities to help mitigate the adverse impacts of the explosive rise in Covid cases, the industry bodies said in a statement.
Manufacturing of automobiles came under pressure from the first week of April when the state government of Maharashtra announced lockdown measures to contain the rising cases of Covid infections. Subsequently other states like Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and others also followed suit.
Leading automobile manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Hero MotoCorp Ltd, Hyundai Motor India Ltd and others have either stopped production at their factories or reduced output significantly. Some manufacturers like Tata Motors and Bajaj Auto Ltd have been continuing with production albeit with limited capacity.
“Clearly, there is a complete alignment in the prime objectives of the government and the industry in terms of saving lives, livelihoods and ushering in growth. The CM was assured of industry’s compliance to Covid appropriate protocol and behavior. Considering all these imperatives, the CM assured us of a favourable decision on our request very soon," said Kamal Bali, former chairman, CII, Karnataka.
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