Districts with substantial economic activity should be permitted to resume all industrial and business operations with the highest safety protocols for enterprises to remain financially sustainable while averting job losses, CII said on Sunday.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) called for economic contribution of districts to be taken into consideration while classifying lockdown zones.

Districts with high economic activity should resume all industrial and business operations, including in containment zones with the highest safety protocols, said CII in its report titled 'A Strategy Note on Resumption of Economic Activities in Industrial Areas', submitted to the government.

The government notification of May 1 has permitted industrial estates, special economic zone (SEZ) and industrial townships with restricted entry within urban areas of red zones to commence operations.

The industry body said that all industrial units, including in non-notified industrial areas and standalone units, be allowed to function in urban areas. These should include non-essential goods and services as well.

It has recommended that close surrounding areas can be classified as orange zones where industrial activity can be continued with strict precautionary measures and monitoring.

The distinction of essential and non-essential items should be removed and all factories should be permitted to restart, according to CII.

'The third phase of lockdown necessitates a focused strategy to minimize economic contraction due to Covid-19, without compromising on efforts to control the contagion. Prioritising districts with heavy presence of economic and industrial activities with continued operations accompanied by strictest precautions can help enterprises to remain financially sustainable while averting job losses,' CII director-general Chandrajit Banerjee said.

While the protracted lockdown in the country, necessitated by the rapid spread of Covid-19, has helped in controlling the spread of epidemic and given us time to augment medical capacity, it has also caused enormous stress to the financial sustainability of many businesses, the chamber said.

CII has requested that the top districts should be identified based on variables like their contribution to the country's GDP, or presence of industrial estates and clusters or registration of enterprises in a district.

Instead of the current practice of classifying the entire district as a red zone, CII has suggested the need for classifying zones as containment, orange and green within an industrial district.

Economic activities, in varying degrees of relaxation, should be permitted in all areas of those districts, but health and safety protocols would differ from zone to zone, the chamber suggested.

It said the containment zone may be a street, mohalla or factory building where positive cases have been detected.

In containment zones, industrial units where no positive cases exist, can be allowed to operate if workers can be restricted to the premises or within walkable distance, as per the CII note. Raw materials and finished goods should be disinfected and kept separately for 72 hours before use as permissible by the health authorities.

Maximum precautions and safety measures in the form of masks, repeated sanitation, restricted movement of people and vehicles, and group testing, among others, can be carried out regularly in such containment zones, noted CII.

'Aggressive measures are required to ensure that an industrial district moves from red to orange and green within 21 days. The cost of undertaking precautionary measures by way of repeated sanitation, wearing of PPE, Masks, monitoring, group testing etc. will be much less than the economic loss if businesses in such high performing districts have to remain shut for longer duration,' said Banerjee.

CII also called for limited public transport to function to enable workers and self-employed people to reach the industrial areas.

Green zones within an industrial district, on other hand, should be allowed to work with relaxed restrictions but following strictly the health and safety protocols prescribed by the health authorities.

There should be a real time availability of data on all types of zones within the industrial districts. The authorities may also provide updated information on Aarogya Setu app, other apps, local newspapers, radio, TV and online channels, according to the chamber.

It also prescribed standard operating procedures for offices, workplaces, factories and establishments prior to resuming operations.