A meeting of the State Cabinet on Monday is likely to deliberate on a slew of measures to coax the local economy into surmounting the inertia caused by the COVID-19 lockdown.
The government is constrained to walk a tightrope between exempting labour-intensive sectors from the shutdown and ensuring that epidemic containment regulations endure. The Centre had factored in the concerns of various States at a videoconferencing of Chief Ministers chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. It is expected to issue a set of guidelines to aid States to ease restrictions in a spaced manner in jurisdictions that are not reckoned ‘high-risk.’
A codified set of directions issued by the State government after the conference is a pointer to the path of gradual normalisation Kerala intends to tread warily. The government has prioritised the revival of the pharmaceutical and medical instrument manufacturing sectors.
Construction business
It has also accorded primacy to agriculture and exempted farm and plantation workers from the shutdown.
The government has urged seven public sector units to resume production. Fisheries, cashew, and coir sectors can expect a relaxation soon.
A significant challenge for the government will be revitalising the construction business. Builders are, arguably, the largest employers in the State, and a bulk of the estimated 3.85 lakh migrant workers find work at construction sites. The government is hoping that the Centre will give its nod to raise funds from the open market by issuing sovereign bonds.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had also sought an increase in the State’s borrowing limit, its share of the GST revenue, more foodgrains to sustain the PDS network, and a fiscal stimulus package from the Centre to revive the moribund economy.
The government is worried about the economic fallout of a possible influx of ‘out of work’ non-resident Keralites, mostly blue-collar workers, from the Gulf.
The government is also working on ways to kick-start commerce by encouraging door-to-door delivery of goods and services.
