Amid nationwide lockdown, the Indian industry has proposed to reopen manufacturing units in various states, for which the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has proposed pooled testing of labours to start limited operations.
According to a report by Indian Express, a proposal is being pushed to governments in manufacturing states to restart units and operate with limited workers. The CII has proposed for labour, including migrants, undergoing pooled testing, which will help isolate healthy batches of workers.
A pooled testing method involves testing multiple samples at a time. So, if the test is negative, all the people tested are negative. If the test is positive, all persons are tested individually.
Earlier, India Inc has sought an economic package from the Centre to tide over the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and support small and medium businesses to keep their enterprises afloat while catering to the needs of the poor and informal sector workers.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has submitted recommendations to the government seeking an "economic package" entailing additional support to the lowest strata and the informal sector through cash transfers, amounting to Rs 2 lakh crore to Jan Dhan account holders.
It also suggested the Centre to enhance credit limits for working capital across the board to all industries and additional reconstruction term loans to MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) and stressed sectors with a government guarantee on default, up to 20 per cent.
