CII suggests calibrated reopening of sectors based on red, amber and green zones

Industry chamber CII on Sunday suggested a "slow and staggered" approach to reopening various sectors based on classification of geographies as red, amber and green, depending upon the incidence of COVID-19 cases.

Textiles and apparels, pharmaceuticals, food processing, minerals and metal, besides e-commerce, automobiles and chemicals are the key sectors that need to restart operations in a calibrated manner, as per a report by CII.

However, prior to the lifting of the lockdown, there has to be adequate notice given to all and also the announcement of an economic package, CII said in a statement.

A calibrated and safe exit from the lockdown, subject to considerations being given to the geographical spread of COVID-19 in the country, would be a practical approach, said CII, adding that this is an evolving situation and one has to flexible in approach.

"Given that the number of cases has rapidly increased and hotspots have emerged in the country over the last few days, and that the opening up across the country would need to be slow and staggered, it would be desirable to have three classifications of geographies as red, amber and green, based on the incidence of COVID cases," said CII Director GeneralChandrajit Banerjee.

A more complex point is whether all industries can open in the green zones and which ones should open in the amber zone, assuming that none would be operational in the red zones other than essential and exempt services.

All facilities that reopen must have requisite health, sanitation and screening systems in place to protect workers, it said.

Various measures have been suggested, such as thermal check, social distancing, factory sanitisation and so on. Any enterprise which does not comply with this on a self-certification basis should be subject to stringent penalties, the statement said.

"CII has used four key indicators for prioritisation of sectors for restart.

"These include sectors that are part of and support the essential goods and services ecosystem, labour intensive sectors that support jobs and livelihoods, sectors that are essential for protecting India's export market share and gain the confidence of global markets besides sectors that will help us manage our imports to a minimum based on essential requirements for further production and export," said the chamber.

The CII report, 'Exit from the Lockdown', has suggested a stage wise and zone wise restart of industrial operations.

Stage I would include 100 per cent operationalisation of pharmaceuticals manufacturing, textiles and apparels, food processing and minerals & metals.

Stage II would entail opening with a gap of one or two weeks after the first stage sectors like agri market operations, e-commerce including food and groceries delivery, automobiles and chemicals especially those used for sanitation and other healthcare purposes.

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Stage III could be the remaining sectors after one or two weeks.