The government had paused the economy to save lives from the Covid-19 pandemic, and now it needs to restart it to save livelihoods, said Sajjan Jindal, Chairman, JSW Group.

The economic fallout of the global lockdowns has been brutal and the battle to save livelihoods is as important, he said, and added that staying home till a cure is found for Covid-19 will make the loss of livelihoods as severe as the loss of lives.

Global economies are opening up and India should also get back to its full capacity at the earliest to be a successful economy, said Jindal in a statement on Monday.

“The slower we are in restarting our economy, the more we will lose against competing countries which are out of lockdown. We cannot lose any more time,” he said.

European countries such as Spain, France, Amsterdam and Germany have accepted a “new normal” and have started living again. Restaurants, shopping complexes, and public transport have all sprung back to life. That’s how you save the economy. Not by staying indoors, said Jindal pitching for revival of the economy.

“We will have to live with the virus for some time and while staying indoors is a need for some, it’s not a solution for all,” he added.

JSW Steel, headed by the man in a hurry, more than doubled its production last month after shutting down production in March-end due to the Covid-19 pandemic and restarting it mid-April.

The company's crude steel production jumped 122 per cent in May to 12.48 lakh tonnes (lt) against 5.63 lt logged in April.

Output of flat steel was up 163 per cent to 9.06 lt against 3.44 lt recorded in April, while that of long products improved to 2 lt (0.99 lt).

However, overall production is still lagging compared to last year. The output in May 2020 is down 14 per cent from 14.53 lt logged in May 2019.

Production of flat and long steel products fell 11 per cent and 44 per cent compared to May 2019.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW