Government plans on resuming industrial operations post lockdown

New Delhi : As the lockdown end date is nearing, the government is mulling ideas on how to resume the industrial operations to bring the economy back in place while maintaining safety of the residents from coronavirus.

The government is yet to take a final call on how the operations will be resumed, if not completely than partially in phased manner. The ministers have started working on it after PM Narendra Modi asked them to create a list of 10 major decisions and 10 priority areas of focus once the lockdown ends, government officials said.

According to officials, a final decision on the matter will be taken by next week after thorough assessment of the situation on the ground.

"Numbers of Covid-19 infected people are still rising. If this continues, lifting the lockdown is unlikely. But, essential economic activities cannot be held back for long," the official added.

A second government official said it does not make sense to continue with a complete lockdown. "Purpose of lockdown was to contain spread of the virus at stage-II, but it has surpassed that stage and community spread is clearly visible largely because of one misadventure in Delhi. And the shutdown of the economy for long will make economic recovery difficult."

The officials also accepted that the amount of essential goods is limited and it is a must to resume some operations in a controlled contained environment. There is a need to ensure their uninterrupted supply, which will require efficient management of a supply chain in a sanitised environment – from procurement of raw materials to distribution of finished goods through retail outlets. They explained, adding that such economic activities could be started in a contained environment in consultation with the industry.