Lockdown 2.0: With state govts cautious, relaxation some way off

Teams from Samsung to LG, Vivo, and Oppo, had held several rounds of discussions with the state labour department, industrial authorities and the district magistrate's office

Suleiman Mollah, a migrant labourer from South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, works in one of Noida’s many garment factories. Sumit Vij owns a small-scale electric bulb-manufacturing facility in the region. With the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA’s) notification last week on partially lifting the lockdown, both had hoped for resumption in industrial activities. But a last-minute order on extension from the district magistrate has dashed their hopes.

Despite the partial relief offered by the central government, the once bustling industrial hub in Noida-Greater Noida continues to remain shut. None of the large electronics manufacturers in the region has managed to