Issues of industry will be resolved soon, assures Karnataka’s Chief Secretary

Bengaluru: The Chief Secretary of the Government of Karnataka P Ravikumar said that the government will soon take a decision to resolve all the problems faced by the State’s industrial sector due to the COVID-19 induced lockdown.

He was speaking at a virtual meeting with the representatives of the industry on Wednesday.

“The government has considered the suggestions of industrialists and officials of various trade associations on the hardships faced by businesses and the solutions required for it. The demands put forward by the industrialists are reasonable. Not every sector is demanding financial aid. Appropriate action will be taken after reviewing the request of the industrialists. The decision to restart necessary industries will be taken soon,” he said.

“In May, the rise in the number of daily COVID-19 infections was high. Hence, strict measures were implemented to control the spread of the second wave of the pandemic. The time has now come to restart the economy. Step-by-step lockdown will now be relaxed and industries will be enabled to function,” he said.

Some of the presented to the chief secretary by the trade associations include:
– Workers in micro, small and medium enterprises should be declared as frontline workers and prioritised for vaccination
– Bar and restaurants should be temporarily exempted from paying monthly license fees
– Exemption from BESCOM fees, minimum electricity charges
– Implementation of the MGNREG scheme in urban areas