STAYIN' ALIVE

Confident of growth returning to the CV industry, factors like ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and the uptick in rural economy are set to play a role.

- Bhushan Mhapralkar

A young entrepreneur, Sachin Pawar (name changed on request) operates a micro-unit at Pune’s Bhosari MIDC about a stone’s throw distance from the Tata Motors’ plant. His enterprise makes precision machined parts for various manufacturing industries in the region, including Tier 1 suppliers to the big auto makers in the region. Enjoying a good business outlook until 2018, Pawar is currently finding it tough to keep going. With business down by over 75 per cent of what he used to do until 2018, he is finding the tax compliance burden a tad high since beyond that and the payment of salaries and the fixed overhead costs he is almost left to put money out of his pocket. If he breaks even, he is happy. Clearly remembering that he was contemplating exploring a new business opportunity by buying a minitruck in 2015, Pawar is currently finding it difficult to even stay afloat. The sudden lockdown, which is termed as the strictest, changed the complete scenario, he said over the phone. The closure of his unit for two months followed by a local lockdown in the region have taken a toll. The fear of Covid-19 looming yet, Pawar rued that I have seen my business plummet even as the thought of tapping a new business opportunity by purchasing a mini-truck does not go out of my mind. It has been one big downhill journey, he averred. Hoping that the business environment will improve over the mid- to long-term, Pawar is hoping that the Government supports MSMEs like his in a big way. Isn’t ‘Atmanribhar Bharat’ about it, he remarked.