Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has put forward a recommendation to the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to ensure smooth functioning of industries during the nationwide general strike on March 28 and 29.

CII stated that all MSME units- trade, industry and services- are reeling under the economic pressure created by series of lockdowns and high incidence of Covid-19 infections across all sections of the society. Business loans have increased and there was no adequate business to service the loans. The immediate future will see rising NPAs with all financial institutions.

The pandemic has severely impacted the industrial and economic activities in the State. Industries have already lost many man days due to the pandemic. Even though the government has now relaxed most restrictions , the impact of the lockdown on the economy is likely to be long-term. 

According to CII, businesses everywhere are both coping with their urgent needs and looking at ways to get back on track. As the industries are slowly returning to normalcy and resuming their operations, any disruption in industrial and commercial activity during the nationwide general strike will further negatively impact the industrial activities. 

Hence, the strike by political parties should be restricted in such a manner that normal life and businesses is not affected under any circumstances. The Kerala Government is looking for an improvement in the EODB ranking and this small step will boost the confidence of the business community at large, CII said.

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