Lockdown 2: Relaxation to help bring liquidity in market, says JSW Steel

New Delhi, Apr 15 () Welcoming the fresh guidelines for the second phase of lockdown, JSW Steel on Wednesday said the renewed measures will help restart economic activity and allow liquidity in the market. As per the fresh government guidelines issued on Wednesday for enforcing the second phase of the coronavirus lockdown, industrial units located in rural areas will be allowed to function from April 20, while all kinds of public transport has been barred and opening of public places prohibited till May 3. The units in rural areas will be able to operate only if they follow social distancing norms. The government's circular will allow to restart some activities to mitigate the hardship being faced by the public, JSW Steel Director (Commercial, Marketing, Corporate Strategy) Jayant Acharya said. "This will help restart some economic activity and also bring some activity and also bring in much needed liquidity... We are also (now) evaluating restarting our facilities in a phased manner within the protocols and guidelines defined," he said in a statement. Acharya also believes MSME sector will benefit to a large extent as a result of the government's move. Recently, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) Managing Director V R Sharma said there are about 3-4 lakh steel MSMEs in various parts of the country which are totally shut down due to the locked. ABI MKJ