‘Sale of glass bottles, vials yet to pick up pace’

ASHiSH LUTHRA is director of Luthra Bottles Private Limited, a company providing glass packaging solutions to pharmaceutical, food, beverages, liquor and beer companies. Headquartered in Amritsar, its branches are based in Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) and Ambala (Haryana). In an interview with Neeraj Bagga, Ashish feels that humans all over the world are suffering due to the Covid-19 disease as no medicine or vaccine has been developed by doctors. The virus has given caused economic problems. The improvement in business will take place only after a vaccine is developed. Excerpts:

How has the lockdown impacted your business?

Since a large number of companies using our glass bottles and vials had shut their operations for almost two months during the lockdown, there was almost no demand from them for packaging solutions. There was a slowdown in production in most industries owing to the shortage of labour which upset the supply chain. The payment cycle has been adversely affected, resulting in liquidity crunch.

Do you expect any of your businesses to start running in the near future?

Since we are an integral part of pharma packaging material supply chain, our business was closed for a few days in March. We geared up and motivated our teams in all the three cities to resume operations quickly while taking all precautions. Though we have started operations, our sales have been severely affected.

Did you pay salaries to your employees during the lockdown period?

We paid salaries to all employees on time all these months. There has neither been any delay nor any deductions in their salaries.

What is the share of online trading in your profession?

The share of online trading in our line of business is negligible.

What lessons have you learnt from the lockdown as a businessman?

The best lesson I have learned from the lockdown is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. The present scenario sometimes evokes the image of science fiction but now the reality is sinking in that we are passing through one of the worst global crisis ever. One can face many more adversities in the coming months. It seems mother nature is going to teach us quite a few harsh lessons.

Do you consider the current crisis as a challenge or an opportunity?

I consider the present crisis as a tough challenge, it cannot be considered anything less. A case in point being the recent announcement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the government would provide free grains to 80 crore people of the country. That implies that almost 62 per cent of the population is living on government alms. A grim situation indeed which raises doubts over the Niti Ayog figures of only 30 per cent of the population being below the poverty line. The actual figure seems to be much higher. He believes that only those companies will be able to tide over the present crisis which have saved enough for the rainy day.

What are your expectations from the government?

The maximum rate of direct tax (corporate as well as personal) should be reduced to 10 per cent, which will help in faster capital formation and also enable companies to achieve global scales and competitive edge.