Introduction
With the onset of the second wave of the Covid 19 pandemic, emerged trying times which restricted travel, stalled labour and forced companies to again adopt the work from home model.
If we were to take a look at the current economic situation, the overall growth in GDP seems stalled, unemployment is at an all time high of 13% and retail inflation which was at 4.29% in the month of April now stands at 5.30% in May. On closer examination of the economy there seems to be little space for any kind of pent up demand as people are spending a large part of their salaries on concerns related to health.
As per data reported by the Union Ministry on 10th June, 2021, there have been 6148 deaths in one day only. The pandemic has disrupted the entire ecosystem especially sectors specialising in tourism, hospitality, real estate and aviation which seem to have taken a real hit.
The Government’s Support In India’s Road to Recovery
Understanding the need of the hour, the government has prioritised rampant vaccination drives and focused on the maintenance of social distancing norms.
The first vaccination drive started in January where frontline workers were vaccinated. The focus then shifted to people above the age of sixty. It was in the month of May that the government opened vaccination drives to anyone above the age of eighteen. The journey for the procurement of vaccines has not been easy. The entire process of planning and regulating the price on these vaccines has been a task in itself.
As per the latest announcements by the central government there is a new initiative introduced under the central government programme where it states that everyone above the age of eighteen would be eligible to take the vaccine for free from 21st June onwards.
As there seems to some semblance with regard to the Covid cases, there is an ongoing phased relaxation of lockdown regulations across states in India.
The government is in talks with WTO members with regard to an urgent closure on the TRIPS waiver proposal. The Indian government would want to close this by the middle of June.
The government is looking to extend the Atmanirbhar Bharat Yojana. This scheme was launched for a nine month period between 1st October 2020 to 30th June, 2021.
To look into the needs of the economy, the Indian government has announced that it would be launching the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana where it would be giving out free food till the month of November.
Concluding Remarks
India’s road to recovery is a long process. Even though we have gone through the second wave of the pandemic, medical health workers and the government are already preparing for the next wave which could be expected in the near future.
The repercussions that this pandemic has brought with it with continue to stay with us for a very long time, however we can only see the road ahead if we are able to positively pull ourselves ahead.
This article is authored by Medha Rijal. She is an active blogger and writes about topics such as financial planning, investments and wealth management.
If you enjoyed reading this article and would want to read more do check out – Should IP Rights on Vaccines Be Wavered.
