Wilting workers, factories: Heat casts cloud over India Inc

As summer arrives ahead of schedule in India, warnings of intense heatwaves are raising alarms across the nation's industrial heartlands.

- Dhirendra Kumar

NEW DELHI: Industry executives said soaring temperatures could throttle productivity, risking a slowdown in India's vital manufacturing sector. The weather office has issued heat wave alerts for south Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, southern Haryana and Maharashtra's Vidarbha over multiple days until 24 April.

Labour-intensive sectors like textiles, leather, and small-scale engineering units are expected to bear the brunt of heatwaves, industry executives said.

"The manufacturing of steel is getting indirectly impacted due to the intense heatwaves, as most furnaces are located in open environments and the rising temperatures are affecting workers' performance," said Pankaj Chadha, chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC). Many of India's steel plants are located in regions scorched by heatwaves.