CEOs in Indian Companies Seek to Vaccinate Staff to Avert Lockdown

Chief executive officers of companies in India are against more lockdowns and are instead working with the government to vaccinate their employees, according to a survey conducted by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

The industry body polled 710 CEOs and senior leaders. They were split across manufacturing and service sectors and 68% were from small firms.

Key Findings:

• Three of four respondents said night curfew or partial lockdown will hurt movement of their workers
• Of these, about half see production or sales falling 10%-50% a month due to such curbs
• 67% respondents indicate they are working with the government for mass vaccination of eligible workforce
• 57% are stocking excess raw materials and 31% are accommodating workers within the factory to avoid night curfews
• 79% respondents want all their workers to be vaccinated
• 93% respondents said stricter enforcement of safety rules would be better than a lockdown

India has seen a resurgence in coronavirus infections in recent weeks, reporting a daily record of more than 150,000 cases. Hospitals are on the brink of being overwhelmed and preventive vaccines and curative medicines are running out. The new wave has pushed Maharashtra -- the most industrialized state that accounts for almost 15% of national output -- to shut all non-essential businesses and order offices to work from home through April.

Original News: All India | (c) 2021, Bloomberg | Ganesh Nagarajan, Bloomberg

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