Hyderabad, Apr 20 (IANS): The Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) Telangana chapter on Monday welcomed the decision of the state government to defer fixed electricity charges for the industry till the end of May.

Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao had announced that the state cabinet decided to defer fixed electricity charges for industry in view of the crisis due to coronavirus induced lockdown. He said the industrial units would have to pay only for the electricity they consume.

Krishna Bodanapu, Chairman, CII Telangana State Council , said that the decision is a welcome step.

"Industrial units, especially MSMEs, are reeling under a huge financial burden due to the lockdown. Substantive support measures like this from the government are required to mitigate the impact of the lockdown from industry," he said.

Krishna called for striking a balance between the imperatives of preserving the importance of health, economy and society. He said CII had submitted recommendations to the government on the support required by industry to restart operations post lockdown. "We are hopeful industry growth will begin slowly," he said.