BENGALURU : These are especially grim days for small and medium-sized enterprises across India. Exporters are facing orders being cancelled or being diverted to Vietnam and China because of India’s lockdown, even as they seek clarity to restart business operations in the wake of local and state governments’ bewildering array of ever-changing rules and restrictions.
Against this backdrop, on 4 May, Christine Rai, chairperson of the Indian Buying Agents Association (BAA), received good news.
After two months of petitioning India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade to allow the export of sleep masks—airline-styled eye patches—the government clarified this week that the items should not be subject to the export ban meant for medical masks.