Economy at standstill despite relaxation of lockdown norms

The economic activity in the country hasn’t still picked up, despite the partial lifting of the lockdown by the government which allowed some of the industries to start functioning.

DH spoke to a cross-section of transporters and industrialists to get a perspective into the things and most of them have complained about two things -- availability of raw material and availability of labour.

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From April 20, the construction activities in India were allowed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

However, hardly any construction activity has started since.

“We need cement and sand for construction activity. And to avoid exposure to weather, we follow the just-in-time model for incoming raw materials. And the government wants us to restart at one go,” a construction company owner from North India said.

A builder complained about the non-availability of migrant labourers, who drive the infrastructure projects across the cities. “Some have already left for their hometown, the rest are waiting to return to their hometown,” the builder said.

The data available with Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) shows that the labour force is estimated to decline to 362 million this week compared to 434 million in March 2020 -- a drop of 17% amid strict lockdown.

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Many other industries that have been allowed to commence the operations by the government are also feeling a dearth of raw materials -- which is reflected in the low level of commercial transport activity in the country.

As of date, only seven lakh commercial vehicles (just 10% of pre-lockdown numbers) are plying on the roads on a daily basis, according to Bal Malkit Singh, Chairman - Core Committee, and Former President of All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC). Before the government decided to put the entire country into lockdown to battle coronavirus pandemic, about 70 to 75 lakh commercial vehicles used to ply on Indian roads and highways every day.

According to Singh, the transporters are still facing glitches in the movement of goods.

“There are only essential goods that are being transported right now. But the message is getting transmitted late. The truckers are being stopped at various checkpoints across states,” Singh said.