As India has entered into the second phase of the lockdown in its fight against COVID-19, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has now permitted operations in some sectors and announced certain relaxations by its order dated April 15, 2020, as amended by order on April 16, 2020 (collectively "Guidelines"), which are scheduled to come into effect from April 20, 2020. We have set out below the most common questions we have received on the Guidelines since the announcement.

1. What kind of commercial activities continue to remain closed till May 3, 2020?

The Guidelines provide for the following activities to remain closed till May 3, 2020:

  1. All domestic (including inter-district or inter-state) and international travel by air, trains, buses, metro rail or any other mode (except for permitted activities like transportation of goods/cargo, security purposes and operations of relief and evacuation measures.
  2. Educational, training, coaching institutions. However, online teaching and education are being promoted.
  3. Hospitality Services and all industrial /commercial activities, except as specifically permitted under the Guidelines (see FAQ at 2);
  4. Taxis and services of cab aggregators.
  5. All cinema halls, shopping complexes, gymnasiums, sports complexes, swimming pools, assemble halls and similar places.
  6. All social, political, sports, academic, cultural or any other such gathering.

Areas identified as "hotspots" however will continue to be in complete lockdown and any exemptions provided under the Guidelines will not apply to any establishments operating in these areas.

2. What kind of commercial activities are allowed from April 20, 2020?

Only certain activities will be permitted and operationalized by States/Union Territories/ District Administrations (Appropriate Authority) from April 20, 2020, if it strictly complies with prescribed standards. Some of the Permitted Activities are as follows:

Health services (including AYUSH)

  1. Hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, telemedicine facilities.
  2. Dispensaries, chemists, pharmacies, all kinds of medicine shops, including Jan Aushadhi Kendras and medical equipment shops.
  3. Medical laboratories and collection centers.
  4. Pharmaceutical and medical research labs, institutions carrying out COVID-19 related research.
  5. Veterinary hospitals, dispensaries, clinics, pathology labs, sale and supply of vaccines and medicines.
  6. Manufacturing units of drugs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, medical oxygen, their packaging materials, raw materials and intermediates.
  7. Authorized private establishments that support the provisioning of essential services, or efforts for containment of COVID-19, including home care providers, diagnostic supply chain firms serving hospitals.
  8. Construction of medical/health infrastructure including the manufacture of ambulances.
  9. Movement of medical and veterinary personnel, scientists, nurses, paramedical staff, lab technicians, midwives and other hospital support services, including ambulances.

Financial sector

  1. RBI and RBI regulated financial markets and entities like NPCI, CCIL, payment system operators and standalone primary dealers.
  2. Bank branches and ATM, IT vendors for banking operations, banking correspondents, ATM operation and cash management agencies.
    • Bank branches to be allowed to work as per normal working hours until the disbursal of DBT cash transfers is complete.
    • Local administration to provide adequate security personnel at bank branches and banking correspondents to maintain social distancing, law and order and staggering of account holders
  3. SEBI and capital and debt market services as notified by SEBI.
  4. IRDAI and insurance companies.

Public utilities

  1. Operation of oil and gas sector, including refining, transportation, distribution, storage and retail of products e.g., petrol, diesel, kerosene, CNG, LPG, PNG etc.
  2. Generation, transmission, and distribution of power at Central and State/UT levels.
  3. Postal services, including postal offices.
  4. Operation of utilizes in water, sanitation and waste management sectors, at municipal/local body levels in States and UTs.
  5. Operation of utilities providing telecommunications and internet services.

Online teaching / Distance learning

All educational, training, coaching institutions etc. shall remain closed. However, these establishments are expected to maintain the academic schedule through online teaching.

Supply of essential goods

  1. All facilities in the supply chain of essential goods, whether involved in manufacturing, wholesale of retail of such goods through local stores, large brick and mortar stores or e-commerce companies should be allowed to operate ensuring strict social distancing without any restriction on their timing of opening and closure.
  2. Shops (including kirana shops and single shops selling essential goods) and carts, including ration shops, dealing with food and groceries, hygiene items, fruits and vegetables, dairy and milk booths, poultry, meat and fish, animal feed and fodder etc., should be allowed to operate ensuring strict social distancing without any restriction on their timing of opening and closure.
  3. Movement, loading/ unloading of goods/ cargo is also allowed subject to limitations prescribed in the Guidelines.

Construction activities

  1. Construction of roads, irrigation projects, buildings and all kinds of industrial projects including MSME's in rural areas and all kinds of projects in industrial estates.
  2. Construction of renewable energy projects.
  3. Continuation of works in construction projects within the limits of municipal corporations and municipalities, where workers are available on site and no workers are required to be brought in from outside.

Commercial establishments

  1. Print and electronic media including broadcasting, DTH and cable services.
  2. IT and IT enabled services, with up to 50% strength.
  3. Data and call centers for government activities only.
  4. Courier services.
  5. Cold storage and warehousing services.
  6. Private security services and facilities management services for maintenance and upkeep of office and residential complexes.
  7. Hotels, homestays, lodges and motels, which are accommodating tourists and persons stranded due to lockdown, medical and emergency staff, air and sea crew.
  8. Establishments used/ earmarked for quarantine facilities.
  9. Services provided by self-employed persons e.g., electrician, IT repairs, plumbers, motor mechanics and carpenters.

Industrial establishments

  1. Industries, operating in rural areas, i.e., outside the limits of municipal corporations and municipalities.
  2. Manufacturing and other industrial establishments with access control in SEZs and EoUs, industrial estates and industrial townships.
  3. Manufacturing units of essential goods, including drugs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, their raw material and intermediates.
  4. Food processing industries in rural areas.
  5. Production units, which require continuous processes and their supply chain.
  6. Manufacture of IT hardware.
  7. Coal production, mines and mineral production, their transportation, the supply of explosives and activities incidental to mining operations.
  8. Manufacturing units of packaging materials.
  9. Jute industries with staggered shifts and social distancing.
  10. Oil and gas exploration/ refinery.
  11. Brick kilns in rural areas.

3. Will there be more guidelines from individual States post the MHA Guidelines?

States are allowed to modify the Guidelines as long as they do not dilute them and in fact, they are allowed to impose even stricter measures. Additionally, previous notifications issued by any State(s) which do not dilute or contradict the Guidelines will continue to apply.

4. Are any Permitted Activities required to work at a particular capacity?

The Non-Banking Financial Institutions, house financing companies and micro finance institutions have been told to operate with bare minimum staff. IT and IT enabled services have been permitted to work only at 50% of their strength.

5. How can employees travel to their workplace during the lockdown?

It appears that the public transport system will be operational at a very minimal level. While movement in private vehicles is permissible as long as the employer qualifies under the Permitted Activities, for other workers going to offices, workplaces, factories and establishments, special transportation facilities have to be arranged by employers without any dependency on the public transport system. Vehicles used for this purpose would only be allowed to function with 30-40% passenger capacity. Likewise, there are some additional requirements for workers working in manufacturing and other industrial establishments discussed in FAQ 6 below.

6. Are there any specific guidelines for industrial establishments?

All industrial establishments are required to implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) discussed in FAQ 8 below, before commencing their operations. Specifically, the manufacturing and other industrial establishments operating in SEZs, EoUs, industrial estates and industrial townships are required to make arrangements for the stay of their workers within their premises or in adjacent buildings, to the extent possible to ensure implementation of SOPs. Additionally, all manufacturing establishments are required to ensure:

  1. Frequent cleaning of common surfaces and mandatory washing of hands.
  2. No overlap of shifts and lunch timings should be staggered with social distancing norms implemented in the canteens.
  3. Intensive communication and training on good hygiene practices.

7. For establishments that are allowed to operate, what kind of precautions would they have to take?

In addition to compliance with SOPs discussed in FAQ 8 below, all workplaces which have been permitted to operate, have been asked to ensure that:

  1. They have an adequate arrangement for temperature screening and provide sanitizers at convenient places.
  2. Persons above the age of 65 years, persons with co-morbidities and persons who are parents of children below the age of 5 years should be encouraged to work from home.
  3. Usage of the Arogya Setu mobile application should be encouraged.
  4. Workplace is sanitized between shifts.
  5. Meetings with a large number of people should be prohibited.

8. What are the key requirements of the standard operating procedure mandated for all establishments?

Certain key SOP benchmarks which must be mandatorily followed by employers are as follows:

  • Complete disinfection by using user-friendly disinfectant mediums of the entrance gate of building, office, etc., cafeteria and canteens, meeting room, conference halls/open areas available/ verandah/ entrance gate of the site, bunks, portacabins, building, equipment and lifts, washroom, toilet, sink, water points, walls and all other surfaces.
  • For workers coming from outside, special transportation facilities (30-40% capacity utilization) will be arranged without any dependency on the public transport system and all vehicles and machinery entering the premise should be disinfected by spray mandatorily.
  • Thermal screening for everyone entering and exiting the workplace.
  • Medical insurance for workers.
  • Provision for hand wash and sanitizer preferably with a touch-free mechanism at all entry and exit points and common areas.
  • Not more than 2 to 4 persons to be allowed to travel in a lift or hoist.
  • A distance of 6 feet between 2 seating arrangements
  • Meetings of 10 or more people to be discouraged.
  • A total ban on non-essential visitors at sites.
  • A list of all nearby hospitals/clinics authorized to treat COVID-19 should be available in the establishment at all times.
  • A gap of one hour between shifts and staggering of lunch breaks to ensure social distancing.

9. What implications will companies face if they fail to comply with the Guidelines?

Any non-compliance of the Guidelines and lockdown measures shall attract provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and the Indian Penal Code. Accordingly, in case of any non-compliance by a company or body corporate, such entity as well as every person who was in charge of and was responsible for conduct of the business shall be deemed to be guilty (unless such person can prove it was without his knowledge or he exercised due diligence). Additionally, if the non-compliance has been committed with consent, connivance or due to negligence of a director, manager, secretary or other officers of the entity, such personnel shall also be deemed to be guilty of the offence. The defaulting entities and such individuals who are deemed to be in non-compliance, can be liable for fine as well as imprisonment for up to 1 (one) year.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.