ECONOMIC AND OPERATIONAL IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON SMALL-SCALE INDUSTRIES IN NAGPUR DISTRICT: AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak left small-scale industries, which make up an important part of the industrial development of the region in India, with unprecedented economic and operational problems. This research paper empirically investigates the economic and operational effects of pandemic on small scale industries in Nagpur District. Based on the primary data collected, consisting of 150 small-scale industrial units using a structured questionnaire, the study examines change in key performance indicators which include revenue, employment, liquidity position, and capacity utilisation in the prepandemic, pandemic and post-pandemic periods. The results show that revenues and employment levels dropped statistically significantly and that the supply chains, labour, logistics, and payment cycles have plummeted into extreme operational interruptions during the pandemic. Even though the post-pandemic phase is characterised by partial recovery, most of the firms still work below the prePANDEMIC levels which points to the structural and financial limitations. Adaptive measures like adoption of digital, operational changes, and diversification of suppliers in facilitating recovery are also mentioned as important aspects in the study. The article adds empirical district-level data to the existing set of literature regarding MSME resilience, as well as to the policy-relevant information on designing the specific interventions that will increase the resilience and shock-absorption capacity of the small-scale industries in the post-pandemic setting.