The Indian Auto Industry wants (and needs) full exemption from the lockdown
After registering nearly 0 sales, the Indian Auto Industry's current predicament is woeful. Their only chance of recovering is to be excluded from the lockdown, and be allowed to function immediately.
Since March 24th, the Indian Auto Industry has been forced out of work, and it seems they would continue to be dysfunctional till the 18th of May. As we know, Coronavirus has forced the Government to implement a lockdown, all over the country, in order to curb the spread of the disease.
In desperate times, desperate measures are ought to be taken, and I understand that, but the economic consequences of this step have been dire. Industries, specifically, the Indian Auto Industry has been suffering greatly. The Indian Auto Industry was not in a great position to begin with, as before Covid 19 hit the country, they were adapting to the BS4-BS6 transition, and before that, the ‘Indian Auto Industry slowdown’ was hurting them anyway.
We had recently been reported that the cars sold in the month of April hit an all time low of almost 0, with a few cars being sold via online platforms. Clearly if this continues to go on, the Indian Motor Industry will sink into a recession like situation, which would make their recovery a very long and painful process.
Factories, supply chains and dealerships, have all been shuttered, and an Auto Industry can function only if the 3 work in tandem. If the Government permits production to go ahead at full steam, but continue to keep dealerships closed, it would lead to excess inventory, which would further block the working capital. Therefore, it is quite clear that, if the Auto Industry is to resume operations, they can do so only if all bodies of the Industry are allowed to operate.
The Ministry has provided the Indian Auto Industry with a few conditions under which they could begin to work, but the major players of the Auto Industry ( motor vehicles and motor bikes) have penned down a letter, and addressed it to Ajay Kumar Bhalla, the Home Secretary of India.
This letter will put forward the problems being faced by the Auto Industry, and more importantly, put forward their demand, to resume operations in full swing. This letter has been written by the three crucial organisations of the Indian Motor Industry, SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers), ACMA (Automotive Component Manufacturers Association) and FADA (Federal of Automobile Dealers Association).
The Indian Auto Industry plays a pivotal role in the contributing to the country’s GDP, as it accounts for 7% of the total GDP, 49% of the manufacturing GDP and 15% of GST. Furthermore, the Indian Auto Industry employs about 3.5 crore citizens, directly or indirectly.
While being influential to the country’s performance, the Auto Industry within the country has registering an eye watering revenue loss of Rs 2300 crores, each day. An industry which brings in huge capital gains and provides employment to a large number of people, should not be allowed to stagnate the way it is. I hope the Home Secretary understands the how urgent it is to start the Auto Sector within the country.
