‘Time to use unclaimed PF deposits’

Industry & Lockdown

IN an interaction with Neeraj Bagga, Kamal Dalmia, Director, Natraj Wooltax Ltd and Navneet Synthetic Ltd, both yarn processing units, which have been functioning from Old Focal Point since 1997, says that the yard industry too has been badly affected due to the lockdown. A popular product in fabric manufacturing, it is sold in markets of Delhi, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Varanasi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Mumbai. Excerpts:

How has the lockdown impacted the yarn industry?

The lockdown has brought all activities to a grinding halt. So, our units are no different. All of us are sailing in the same boat of Covid-19. Yarn industry is a part of the textile sector. It begins from spinner, goes to yarn processing units further divided in yarn dying, doubling, twisting and spooling. Then weavers come on the scene who weave the fabric from yarn. Weaver is a big term which is further divided into circular knitting and warp knitting. Both these segments manufacture different patterns of clothes. Then appears farbic processing units and eventually garment manufacturers make shirts, trousers, women suits, kids wear and other varieties. So, the entire fabric manufacturing is a multiple handling job and no category can work in isolation. Hence, precautions for avoiding the coronavirus are very difficult to maintain.

The lockdown has brought all activities to a grinding halt. So, our units are no different. All of us are sailing in the same boat of Covid-19. Yarn industry is a part of the textile sector. – Kamal Dalmia, Director, Natraj Wooltax Ltd

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

We are keeping our fingers crossed for the curfew to be lifted or at least restrictions eased for the industry from May 3.

How are you dealing with releasing salaries?

We had already paid salaries to over 250 employees for the month of March. For the month of April, we are looking at the guidelines of the Union Government. In case, the government does not come out with any financial aid, then we will certainly release some ad hoc funds to all workers and employees for the month of April.

Has any of your major investments got deferred because of the lockdown?

All our investment planning for betterment in the units is under the process and it will be implemented for survival. As they intend to upgrade machinery which will reduce power and water consumption.

What have you learnt from lockdown as businessman?

We learnt that everything is not in our hand as the entire world came to a halt due to the pandemic. So, the Almighty is great and faith in him has increased. We feel that fabric is no longer a necessity in the priority list of people. First of all, durability of existing fabric has increased and non-availability of surplus funds in the pockets of people would be another major reason. They will have expenses such as food, EMI, education, rent and conveyance on hand.

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

Current crisis is a challenge, but it holds a promising opportunity in the long run for dedicated entrepreneurs.We feel that the future of India is promising as trust on China has eroded. Europeans, Japanese and G7 countries will gradually shift their industries out of China and India could be a destination to these units. Post lockdown, the government must offer incentives for setting up new industrial units.

What are your expectations from the government?

On the lines of lowering interest rate on the FDR, the government must curtail the rate of interest on the advances to the MSME sector. The government should expedite disinvestment process so that the fund so earned could be used for the MSME sector. It can help boost MSMEs. The government agencies like the Employees State Insurance Corporation ESIC and the Provident Fund Department have huge unclaimed and unutilised deposits with them. It is high time the government utilised these funds for the welfare of MSME workers as it was supporting the MGNREGA scheme. Pending refunds of the income tax and the GST should be immediately released. Instalments of the term loan, taken for upgrading machineries, should be deferred for at least a year. PSPCL should waive fixed expenses on power tariff of the industrial units for the lockdown period. The government must come out with a voluntary disclosure scheme and tax rate should not exceed the existing income tax slab to attract maximum disclosure.