Core industries' output showing signs of recovery post-COVID: Commerce Ministry
By TIOL News Service
NEW DELHI, FEB 12, 2021: AFTER a steep decline in April, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall growth rate of industrial production of eight core industries started showing signs of recovery after the government implemented several major reforms and the lockdown was relaxed.
Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Mr Som Parkash informed the Rajya Sabha that the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 severely impacted the world's major economies, like the US, UK, European Union and Japan.
"In India too, various sectors were affected due to the nation-wide lockdown. However, after the lockdown was relaxed, improvement has been witnessed in several sectors of the economy," said the minister.
The output of the eight core industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, petroleum refinery, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity - had dipped by 37.9 per cent April, 2020 compared to the same period previous year.
According to the provisional data released by the government for April-December 2020-21, the overall growth rate was negative 10.1 per cent as compared to the corresponding period in the previous fiscal.
The government, he informed, has announced several major reforms and growth supporting measures to boost industrial production and the economy.
"The government has announced a special economic and comprehensive package of Rs. 27.1 lakh crore - equivalent to 13 per cent of India's GDP - to combat the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in India," Mr Parkash said.
Initiatives under the Aatmanirbhar Abhiyan to enhance the domestic production of steel include the inclusion of speciality steel for incentives under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme; offering steel to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that are members of Engineering Export Promotion Council at export parity price under the Duty Draw Back scheme; measures to provide preference to domestically produced iron and steel in government procurement, where aggregates estimate of iron and steel products exceeds Rs 25 crores; protecting the industry from unfair trade through appropriate remedial measures including imposition of anti-dumping duty and countervailing duty on the products in which unfair trade practices were adopted by other countries.
Mr Parkash informed that the cement Industry will benefit from the Rs. 103 lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline, the 'Make in India' programme, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana, and other infrastructure and housing schemes.
He informed that structural reforms have also been announced as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package which include deregulation of the agricultural sector, change in definition of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), commercialisation of coal mining, higher FDI limits in defence and space sector, revamp of Viability Gap Funding scheme for social infrastructure, new power tariff policy and incentivising States to undertake sectoral reforms.
"The implementation of the package is reviewed and monitored regularly," said the minister.