According to Krishan Kapoor, chairman and general secretary of the Haryana Industrial Association (HIA), if the situation does not improve by the end of this year, Gurgaon may see “35-40 per cent companies shut down completely”. In fact, India’s exports grew at the slowest pace in 18 months in September.

“The recession has affected practically all sectors here — be it garment exporters, automobile spare part exporters or the information technology (IT) and the IT-enabled services sector. Companies are either closing down or are terminating the services of their employees as a cost-cutting measure, or not giving increments,” explained Kapoor.

Most of these export houses and garment manufacturers were severely affected when the dollar took a plunge in 2007. “Since the payments are made in US dollars and not Indian rupees, exporters had to bear the losses. If companies fail to fulfil the commitments made by them, they are blacklisted,” said Kapoor, adding that since countries such as China and Pakistan did not face such problems, they increased their share in the global trade.

Over 100 companies had then packed up their units in Gurgaon and shifted to other states like HP and Uttaranchal where electricity and land rates are cheaper. Also, industries in these states are exempted from excise duty for 10 years.

According to Kapoor, the orders have decreased by almost 35 per cent since the slowdown. “Be it spare parts exporters or electronic parts producers or those in garment export, the slowdown has taken its toll on everyone. Though companies abroad are bound by the contract, they can reject the consignment on the slightest of pretext, like poor quality or delay by even a day or two,” he said, adding that it was the responsibility of both the Haryana government and the Centre to help the industry at a time like this.