Lockdown: Paint industry comes forward to help painters during pandemic

New Delhi, Apr 28 () Leading paint makers such as Kansai Nerolac Paints, AkzoNobel India and Berger Paints have come forward to extend financial help to painters, who are passing through a rough phase during the ongoing lockdown.

The companies are providing financial aid to their painting contractors, most of whom are daily wagers and an important part of their business ecosystem, through crowd-funded endowment fund to direct cash transfer in their accounts.

Kansai Nerolac Paints said it has announced to set up a crowd-funded endowment fund for its community of painters in association with India's largest and most trusted donation platform 'Give India'.

The amount collected through this platform will be used to provide financial aid of up to Rs 7,000 each to those painters suffering from Coronavirus. Nerolac will also make a contribution of Rs 5,00,000 to set up the fund.

"The support and commitment of our painter community has helped us attain success through the years. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of millions of daily-wage earners, including painters, bringing many under severe financial stress," Kansai Nerolac Paints Executive Director Anuj Jain said in a statement.

He further said, "Through our association with a renowned platform such as 'Give India', we would like to urge citizens to contribute as much as they can for the safeguard of painter community. The amount collected will be used for the care of painters affected by this virus."

Last month, Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd had also announced an early disbursement of funds to its painter community falling under the Nerolac Premium Painter Pragati (NPP Pragati) Programme wherein over 30,000 painters benefited from the initiative, the company said.

Meanwhile, AkzoNobel India has also announced to extend support to over 12,000 painters in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak by providing an out of turn pay-out through the annual loyalty programme – Colour Guru.

As part of this initiative, direct online transfers are being made to the bank accounts of over 12,000 painting contractors.

"Painting contractors are a significant part of our ecosystem and their livelihood has been impacted by the pandemic. This early disbursement of funds is aimed at placing cash in the hands of painting contractors so that they are able to fulfil their essential needs and cater to any emergency during the extended lockdown period in India," said AkzoNobel India Managing Director Rajiv Rajgopal.

Berger Paints India, which is helping its painting contractors associated with the company through financial assistance, has already started the process of transferring money directly into their bank account.

"The money would help these families in getting daily essentials and to cater to any emergency in a time when their incomes have taken a hit as all painting activities have come to a screeching halt with the lockdown in place," the company said.

The company intends to cover more than 20,000 contractors across India with this activity, the company had said in a statement on April 13.

"The painting contractors have always been an integral part of the larger Berger Family and we feel humbled that we are in a position to support them in this hour of need. A lot of contractors have sent Whatsapp video messages to us appreciating the gesture. It's an overwhelming feeling," Berger Paints MD and CEO Abhijit Roy had said.

Another firm, Asian Paints had committed Rs 35 crore towards COVID-19 Relief Fund, contributing to the central government as well as emergency relief funds operated by the state governments to combat COVID-19.

"As a socially responsible company, Asian Paints is committed to providing necessary support towards various relief measures announced by the government..." said Asian Paints Managing Director and CEO K B S Anand.

According to Care Ratings, the Indian paint industry is estimated to be Rs 50,000 crore industry. Indian paint sector is broadly classified into two main segments - decorative and industrial.

The decorative segment accounts for the majority of the industry's value which is around 75 per cent and the industrial segment accounts for the rest 25 per cent.

"Till FY17, organised players had a market share of about 65 per cent. However, post GST application, the organised players are recapturing market from unorganised players with share of organised players increasing to about 80 per cent now," it said.

The top players in the organised sector are Asian Paints Limited, Kansai Nerolac Paints, Berger Paints India and AkzoNobel India -- which together account for about 68 per cent of the market share, it added.

India is presently going through an extended lockdown period till May 3 as the government tries to curb the spread of coronavirus pandemic.

COVID-19 has so far taken 937 lives in the country and infected a total of 29,974 people, according to the latest data by the Union Health ministry. KRH RKL MKJ