31 Mar 2020
The Coronavirus pandemic is wreaking havoc with people’s lives and livelihoods across the world. The number of affected people and casualties is close to 600,000 and 27,000 respectively as of 27th March. Entire countries and major cities are in lockdown to contain its further spread.
India’s Government is taking strong action to deal with the global pandemic. India currently is one of the less affected countries with less than 1000 detected cases, and this owes to the leadership and proactive role of the Government. A lockdown has been announced across the country for 21 days and transport services of railways and flights have been suspended. At the same time, movement of essential supplies is being maintained.
Measures for relief and support have been announced by the Government aggregating Rs 1.70 trillion, which will assist vulnerable sections of society such as women, elderly persons and farmers in coping with the crisis. Similarly, the Reserve Bank of India has instituted a range of monetary steps such as slashing interest rates and extending time limits for repayment of loans. These will go a long way towards helping in managing the current economic situation.
For the latest on notifications from Central and state governments, please see https://www.ciicovid19update.in/
CII is engaging with the Covid-19 health emergency on multiple fronts.
CII has brought out the CII Code to guide members on responsible action. Some key tenets are to protect all contract and daily wage jobs, comply with all health and other official advisories and caring and committing to the wellbeing of fellow citizens to be the guiding principle for all actions.
CII is continuously keeping industry abreast of government notifications, policy recommendations and best practices to enable better adaptation. These are available on https://www.ciicovid19update.in/
CII is channelizing industry work relating to Covid-19 such as ramping up manufacturing of essential items and equipment and coordinating efforts. It is also working with state governments to ensure that supplies of essential and critical items are not held up due to transport and procedural delays.
For focusing industry efforts regarding Coronavirus pandemic, CII has initiated the CII Covid Relief and Rehabilitation Fund which will attract contributions from industry and assist in all relief measures. The CII Relief and Rehabilitation Initiative is working to identify vacant buildings such as schools that can be converted into housing shelters and hospitals. Industry would provide food and essential items in these places.
MSME will be a special focus area apart from ensuring medical supplies, food and emergency kits. A cadre of volunteers is also being created to help in this while skilling for healthcare workers and volunteers is envisaged. [Details here https://www.ciiblog.in/community/cii-covid-19-relief-and-rehab-initiative/]
To carry out the various industry measures during this disaster-like situation, CII has devised a comprehensive structure under the direction of top industry leaders. While the CII Covid Action Task Force drives overall ideation and implementation, other task forces have been set up for information dissemination, relief and rehabilitation, essential services, manufacturing and trade.
These task forces are driving industry interventions in different areas. State level task forces headed by the respective CII state chairpersons are leading efforts across the states.
Industry is committed to ensuring that the impact of Covid remains muted as far as possible and would be engaged over the months to come to support the country through this crisis period and beyond.
To help in this effort or to find out more, contact us at the CII Covid portal https://www.ciicovid19update.in/
For any issues being faced as industry, please contact the CII Covid Helpline https://www.ciicovid19update.in/helpline.html
To contribute to CII Relief and Rehabilitation Fund, see below:
Organization Name: CII Foundation
Project: COVID -19 Relief and Rehab Initiative
Bank Name: HDFC Bank
Branch Name: Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi – 110001
Account No: 50100232980680
RTGS/NEFT IFS Code: HDFC0000003
Or contact ceo-ciifoundation@cii.in