Due to the outbreak of COVID – 19, the government of INDIA under PM Narendra Modi ordered a nationwide lockdown for 21 days which controlled the movement of the entire 1.3 billion population. This has forced us to face only our four walls and none other. But what would be the impact on the economy? Is it going to be serious? This question cannot be accurately answered as no one can develop accurate premises. But whether serious or not, there is some impact.
The lockdown is leading us to a fatal combination of loss of both life and livelihood. The automobile industry, a key indicator of a country’s economic growth has also been forced to hit the brakes – estimating losses nearly $ 2 billion. Unemployment was at a 45 – year high last year. The industrial output from the eight-core sector at the end of the last year fell by 5.2% - the worst in 14 years. Small business had only just begun to recover from the controversial 2016 currency ban. But this global pandemic is likely to further cripple the already frail economy.
While analyzing the impact on these sectors, isn’t it necessary for us to peep into the lives of the poor? The coronavirus will definitely be a catastrophe for the poor, as they tend to be the first hit when things go wrong and also to take the longest time to recover. But here in the city, we cannot see this divide play out. The current WFH ( work- from- home) protocol for a white-collar job, for instance, when we have the luxury to work remotely but our domestic workers don’t. While we count the number of series that has to be a watch, the poor ones count the number of days they can survive with a piece of bread.
The price of safety masks and sanitizers which are considered to be an important element in this outbreak has significantly risen, which is far away from the reach of poor people battling for survival. The rise in the price of a mask from rupees 2 to rupees 25 will not have much impact on the people with enough earnings, but think of its effect on penniless people! .Thus this pandemic will especially be punishing for the low-income workers and deepening the consequences of inequalities.
Of course yes, the government has taken certain steps….. announcing Rs 1000 as financial aid to the households with the ration cards. But will rupees 1000 be enough to match the steep rise in the price of each commodity? Also, there are a number of people without cards who live in extreme poverty. So who are those benefited by this aid? Are they the target groups? Not exactly. There is definitely a sharp deviation.
Will social distancing be possible with 22 % of INDIA’s population in poverty who merely have a mini room dumped with 5 – 6 people? so again the question erupts “ HOW IS IT GOING TO BE POSSIBLE FOR THE POOR TO FOLLOW THESE?”
The schemes initiated by the government can be said effective only when they hit the target groups. The government must ensure that the funds reserved for the poor reaches them in order to have the proper utilization. This must be taken into a concern or else it may lead to a situation where the death rate due to poverty would be higher than that caused by the virus…
Not bad
An mind blowing article which made all of us to think of it... it definitely hits the poor people and the importance given to the pandemic and the earning people, the same importance should be given to the people who are in poverty by the government, this could be the best way to win this pandemic war.
A thought provoking article indeed but then is there another way to save lives other than this .If a better option is suggested then we can forego lockdown but till then I feel life is more important than other things in life. A well written article though!!
Well said. It is true that the poverty stricken areas are suffering the most and in a situation like this there isn't much that we can do but raise our voice to the government. Excellent piece of article