SME Times News Bureau | 17 Feb, 2020
In a
report, industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has recommended a
slew of measures to the government including subsidies to overcome the adverse
impact of disruption in the supply of Chinese imports due to the novel
coronavirus epidemic.
43 per cent of India's imports come from China. Since China placed a lockdown
in its four provinces and 50 cities to contain the COVID-19 epidemic, supply
chains of Chinese imports to India have been disrupted.
In its report on the impact of 'novel coronavirus in China', the CII has asked
the government to minimise risks to key sectors arising from supply chain
disruptions by encouraging domestic manufacturing. The industry has asked the
Modi government also to offer a buy-back guarantee to purchase of additional
production of the items once China's production and supply returns to normal.
Additionally, the government may consider offering credit with a backstop
facility of guarantee for companies which have the capability to start
immediate production of items that can feed into domestic consumption, the
report said.
The CII asked the BJP government to remove higher customs duties imposed on
certain products that may need to be sourced from other countries now. The
report also recommended import subsidies for certain products under a trade
deal.
The industry has also sought a one-time waiver of Non Performing Assets (NPA)
regulations given the exigencies under a Force Majeure clause so that
enterprises need not worry about the impact on their credit ratings.