Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT has sent a letter to home secretary proposing that if the on-going lockdown is extended beyond April 15, those companies and MSMEs with export commitments be allowed to operate with minimal manpower and necessary movement of material.

It also suggested that 16 sectors, which includes telecom equipment, gems & jewellery, steel and ferrous alloy, automotive units, defence manufacturing and all units in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Export Oriented Units (EOUs), be allowed to operate adhering to safety, sanitisation and distancing norms.

FIEO had earlier warned that with cancellation of over 50 per cent of export orders in the last few weeks due to coronavirus disruptions worldwide there was a chance that there could be 15 million job losses in export units. India’s goods exports declined 1.5 per cent to $292.91 billion in April-February 2020 compared to last year. Exports increased marginally in February 2020, but are expected to fall in March 2020 because of the breakdown in production, supply and payments.