PM urged to constitute GoM to assess corona impact on trade, industry

Noida: Amidst the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus, it is no secret that Indian and global industries are facing a crisis. China, in the last one decade, gained prominence as an economic superpower. It upgraded its trade relations with India too.

Fearing further loss to business as no cure to the epidemic infection is known as yet, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to constitute a Group of Ministers (GoM) examine the impact of coronavirus on trade industry and supply chain of the country.

In the letter, Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary-General of CAIT, said small industries in the country are dependent on the chain for either supply of finished goods or raw materials or spare parts for assembling units.

India depends on imports from China on a large scale as the raw material in the neighbouring country is cheaper. Hence, no suitable alternative could be found so far. 

Questioning the need for an alternative, CAIT's Delhi-NCR Chairman Sushil Kumar Jain said, “Economies of many countries including India depend on China for sourcing of goods. In the letter, we have requested the Prime Minister to also explore the possibilities to make India as an alternate hub by encouraging more people to set up production facilities in India under the Make in India program.”