Auto firms resume production
The government has extended the validity of documents related to Motor Vehicle Act and Central Motor Vehicle Rules till June 30. The validity has been extended for the documents whose validity expires between February 1 and June 30. "Since it is not possible to renew documents during lockdown, various documents related to MV Act 1988 and CMV Rules 1989...will be treated as valid," minister Nitin Gadkari said.
Trade unions resented the decision of some states to cut their employees' pay, increase working hours and delay movement of migrant workers who wish to return home. In a webinar with labour minister Santosh Gangwar, únions demanded effective implementation of Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979. The BMS asked the Centre “to immediately start creating a National Register of Migrant Workers” to help them.
Bank of Maharashtra said it has introduced a new external benchmark based lending rate linked to six-month treasury bill for better-rated corporate and PSU customers. For retail and MSME customers, the bank already has repo linked lending rate (RLLR). "We have introduced a new external benchmark rate linked to six month T-bill rate—External Benchmark T-Bill Rate (EBTR) which is 6.50 per cent as on date,” it said.
The Indian automobile industry, the third biggest employer in the country, has started opening factories and resuming production gradually after nearly 45-day lockdown.
On Wednesday Maruti Suzuki announced that it would open and start production at its Manesar factory on May 12. But it was not clear when its second facility at Gurgaon would resume production. The company can produce 15.5 lakh cars annually.
It has an R&D centre in Rohtak, Haryana. The company employs over 36,000 staff. The GurgaonManesar industrial belt is just outside of India's national capital, New Delhli.
Hyundai said it has started preparatory operations at its factory near Chennai on Wednesday while adhering to the government guidelines in the wake of the pandemic.
India's biggest luxury car maker MercedesBenz, passenger and commercial vehicle maker Isuzu Motors India, premium motorcycle maker Royal Enfield, two-wheelers and three-wheelers major TVS Motor have also resumed production at their respective factories on Wednesday.