- Almost 53% of businesses in the country were severely affected due to pandemic
- Short term strategy will include sustainable activities in the next 3-4 months
- Long term strategy will be based on the global situation and market conditions
COVID-19 has created disruptive challenges in the entire world. People are well clued up about the fact of losses that are both ways this time i.e. personal as well as professional. It is worrisome how the economy can be flourished again knowing the fact that the Indian economy was expected to lose over 32,000 crores every day during the first 21-days of Lockdown. It is beyond the comprehension of our minds to calculate the losses incurred in the economy until now. According to the Ministry of Statistics, India’s growth went down by 3.1% where the government declared that the downfall in the economy is mainly due to this pandemic effect.
Notably economy had already been witnessing slowdown before the pandemic and, according to the World Bank, this current pandemic has “magnified pre-existing risks to India’s economic outlook”. During the lockdown, an estimated 14 crore (140 million) people lost employment while salaries were cut for many others. Up to 53% of businesses in the country were projected to be significantly affected. Major companies in India suspended their working actions with reduced operations amid lockdown. Even the stock markets in India posted their worst losses in history ever on this 23 March 2020.
Despite being the pandemic unleashing uncertainties in the economy, businesses are bracing up for the post COVID economy in sustainable ways. In a recent interview of Machine Maker, Sachin Doshi, Director of Abhijat Equipments Pvt. Ltd and one such business owner discussed the functioning amid lockdown and his short term and long term strategies for business.
Strategies for business
On resuming the operations Doshi said, “Work isn’t happening fully, whatever mandatory precautions and SOPs are given we are following those and same is being followed with workers and laborers as well. Further, Doshi spoke about short term long term strategies. We will be studying all those things to finally cover short term strategies based on that whatever we can do in the next 3-4 months,” Doshi said.
As for short term strategies, we will resume our operations, assess the demand for raw materials, and how much we will be getting from our suppliers
Further, he mentioned that the long term strategies are completely based on the global situation. Long term strategy mainly includes manufacturing of products whether they need to be generated in something new or the same products will be available in the market. These things will also be finalized in a long term policy.
Doshi clears that, “Whether it is machine tool industry or any other industry, they should start the search for new products. People ought to diversify their activities now. Talking about the machine tool industry, machines that will be in demand in the future need to be developed now.
Govt. schemes & policies
Doshi counts on the government schemes and policies as not of much use for machine tool industries. Whatever losses have incurred, the machine tools industry has its major flunk in the last 15 days of March because of depreciation. “Customers who were supposed to buy machine tools by March-end could not pick up orders,” he said.
“Further if I talk about other things like extra loan, interests, working capital as coded by banks, they will be added only on liabilities of machine tool manufacturer since there isn’t any reduction from liability. So, there is no benefit as such passed on to the manufacturer.
Moreover, we have to pursue the salaries of our workers and staff in whatever the outstanding is there in the market. It is very difficult to recover that outstanding because everybody is thinking that there will be a shortage and a crunch of liquidity. So, nobody is giving any outstanding as well.
Established in the year 1977, Abhijat Equipments Pvt. Ltd. is an ISO 9001: 2015 certified manufacturer of varied types of machine tools and accessories. The company designed, developed and started manufacturing Cylinder Head Valve Lapping Machine for the first time in India in 1985.
For more details visit, www.abhijatequipments.com