Coronavirus impact: 60% firms run at less than 25% capacity, says CII

The movement of workers and raw materials remain key hurdles to resuming businesses despite the government allowing major chunks of the industry to operate.

Crippled by lack of inputs, funds and key information, 60% of firms are operating at less than a quarter of their full capacity, with just 10 per cent managing plant utilisation at over 50 per cent, a survey by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) shows.

The movement of workers and raw materials remain key hurdles to resuming businesses despite the government allowing major chunks of the industry to operate, the survey has pointed out.

Conducted on April 24, the survey shows that businesses consider getting permits for enterprises to restart, passes for daily travel of workers and establishing earlier supply chains, as their biggest headaches. For sectors allowed to function, 46 per cent of surveyed enterprises say permits are either not

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provided or are delayed. The CII has recommended that approvals of applications must have clear deadlines with a provision for automatic permits after the specified time.

“For facilitating restart of economic activities, the CII has suggested that in non-containment zones, businesses should be allowed to function without requirement of permits and only through intimation to local authorities. Workers can be permitted to commute on the basis of a letter issued by the employer organisation, with the facility to travel on own vehicles,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of CII.