Maruti To Resume Production At Manesar Plant From May 12

The carmaker has received permission to operate in limited capacity under strict safety guidelines

• Haryana administration has allowed the carmaker to resume work at Manesar facility.

• It is only allowed to operate one shift, make up to 50 cars a day, and has been advised to operate with minimal personnel.

• Maruti is one of the few carmakers to get permission to restart production during lockdown thanks to the location of the plant.

The Indian government has started rolling back certain lockdown measures over the last couple of weeks. While automotive manufacturing was not one of the permitted activities before the lockdown extension till May 17, Maruti Suzuki has now received permission to resume production of vehicles at its Manesar plant.

The carmaker will be restarting production from May 12. Maruti has been permitted to resume work at the plant as long as all the activities are carried out in strict accordance with the current government regulations and guidelines for health and safety. 

We earlier reported that Maruti had received permission from the Haryana administration to reopen the Manesar plant. The official document stated that the carmaker can only operate in a single shift, making 50 vehicles a day. It has received authorisation for up to 4,696 personnel and has been recommended to limit staff to 600 people. Maruti’s permission to operate falls within the government advisory that allows the functioning of industries in export-oriented units, industrial townships, and special economic zones.

Maruti is also taking additional steps to ensure the health and safety of its employees. This includes the use of an in-house ‘Wellness Mitra App’ to monitor health on a real-time basis. It works in conjunction with the government’s Aarogya Setu app as part of their contact tracing objective. The app requires Maruti employees to input their health status and body temperature on a daily basis. Only those who are healthy for at least 14 consecutive days would be allowed to go to work.

A few carmakers have received permission to restart production during the lockdown. More brands are likely to be allowed to resume operations in a limited capacity in the following weeks.