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Here i will be writing about most important topic these days: THE ECONOMIC CONDITION DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND ON GOING CONTINOUS BATTLE.
outbreak of coronavirus has brought social and economic life to a standstill. Coronavirus (COVID-19), a virus that grew has become one of the deadliest viruses that is killing people worldwide
with the increasing number of covid cases, government has once again locked down all public and private offices, factories, transport services and restricted mobilization. As we have already acknowledged that India is a developing economy, it is stated as an economy passing through demand depression and high unemployment, with 21-day lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 23, 2020, there is a job loss of 40 million people (MRD report) in the country, mostly in the unorganized secto
This second lockdown face will shutdown the supply-side, accelerating the slowdown further and kill the economic wellbeing of millions.
ECONOMIC SITUATION:
In India up to 53% of businesses have specified a certain amount of impact of shutdowns caused due to coronavirus on operations, as per a FICCI survey in March. By 24 April the unemployment rate had increased nearly 19% within a month, reaching 26% unemployment across India, according to the 'Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy'. Around 140,000,000 (14 crores) Indians lost employment during the lockdown.
The effect of COVID- 19 was devastating on Indian economy. Many people lost their jobs and livelihood because India went into nationwide curfew for 2 months straight. In addition to this, even government was badly affected as well as there were no funds with the government as everything was closed. It became so bad that at many places, government were not even able to pay income of government employees on time. Many teachers were not paid for more than two months. Also, educational department was highly affected. Many colleges were shut down straight for 3–4 months as most of them don't have enough resources to shift the whole platform online.
In addition to this, many results of important exams were delayed and in some cases paper were not even marked. Overall India was badly affected by this Pandemic.
LIFE VERSUS LIVILIHOOD!
In India the life versus livelihood debate also played out, with the government first announcing that life would be prioritized over livelihood, which later changed to an equal importance being given to life and livelihood. "Jaan hai toh jahaan hai".
IMPACT ON KEY SECTORS AFTER LOCKDOWN:
- MIGRANT WORKERS AND LABOUR FORCE-
Due to the lockdown, daily-wage workers (the urban poor and migrant laborers) were left with no work. At the same time, the lockdown restrictions put a stop on the movement of buses and trains. Large numbers of migrant workers ended up walking back to their villages.
- FOOD AND AGRICULTURE-
Since agriculture is the backbone of the country and a part of the government announced essential category, the impact is likely to be low on both primary agricultural production and usage of agro-inputs. Several state governments have already allowed free movement of fruits, vegetables, milk etc. Online food grocery platforms are heavily impacted due to unclear restrictions on movements and stoppage of logistics vehicles. RBI and Finance Minister announced measures will help the industry and the employees in the short term. Insulating the rural food production areas in the coming weeks will hold a great answer to the macro impact of COVID-19 on Indian food sector as well as larger economy.
- AVIATION AND TOURISM-
The contribution of the Aviation Sector and Tourism to our GDP stands at about 2.4% and 9.2% respectively. The Tourism sector served approximately 43 million people in FY 18-19.Aviation and Tourism were the first industries that were hit significantly by the pandemic.
The common consensus seems to be that COVID will hit these industries harder than 9/11 and the Financial Crisis of 2008. These two industries have been dealing with severe cash flow issues since the start of the pandemic and are staring at a potential 38 million lay-offs, which translates to 70 per cent of the total workforce.
The impact is going to fall on both, White and Blue collar jobs. According to IATO estimates, these industries may incur losses of about 85 billion Rupees due to travel restrictions. The Pandemic has also brought about a wave of innovation in the fields of contactless boarding and travel technologies.
- PHARMACEUTICALS-
There has been a recent rise in the prices of raw materials imported from China due to the pandemic. Generic drugs are the most impacted due to heavy reliance on imports, disrupted supply-chain, and labour unavailability in the industry, caused by social distancing. Simultaneously, the pharmaceutical industry is struggling because of the government-imposed bans on the export of critical drugs, equipment, and PPE kits to ensure sufficient quantities for the country.
The increasing demand for these drugs, coupled with hindered accessibility is making things harder. Easing the financial stress on the pharmaceutical companies, tax-relaxations, and addressing the labour force shortage could be the differentiating factors in such a desperate time.
- OIL & GAS-
The complete lockdown across the country slowed down the demand of transport fuels (accounting for 2/3rd demand in oil & gas sector) as auto & industrial manufacturing declined and goods & passenger movement (both bulk & personal) fell. Though the crude prices dipped in this period, the government increased the excise and special excise duty to make up for the revenue loss, additionally, road cess was raised too
- STOCK MARKETS-
On 8 April, following positive indication from the Wall Street that the pandemic may have reached its peak in the US, the stock markets in India rose steeply once again. By 29 April, Nifty held the 9500 mark
- Electronics Industry-
The major supplier is China in electronics being a final product or raw material used in the electronic industry. India’s electronic industry may face supply disruptions, production, reduction impact on product prices due to heavy dependence on electronics component supply directly or indirectly and local manufacturing.
- inflation and Affected Industry-
Globally in a poll by the 'Edelman Trust Barometer', out of the 13,200+ people polled, 67% agreed that "The government's highest priority should be saving as many lives as possible even if it means the economy will recover more slowly"; that is, life should come before livelihood. For India, the poll showed a ratio of 64% to 36%, where 64% of the people agreed that saving as many lives as possible was a priority, and 36% agreed that saving jobs and restarting the economy was the priority.
- State income and expenditure-
State governments incurred huge losses to the extent of having to cut capital expenses as well as government plans in the near future and finding alternate ways to pay salaries.
The Delhi government has fallen 90% short in tax collection as compared to 2019 and is planning to take loans and raise taxes in certain sectors. Maharashtra put a hold on all new capital works till March next year; spending under government development schemes has been reduced by 67% for the current fiscal. The income of the Madhya Pradesh government has fallen by 85% in April and borrowing has increased
China is one of the largest exporters of many raw materials to India. Shutting down of factories has damaged the supply chain resulting in drastic surge in the prices of raw materials. Some of the other products that has seen a rise in their prices are gold, masks, sanitizers, smartphones, medicines, consumer durables, etc. Aviation sector and automobile companies are hardest hit among the rest. With no airplane landings or take-offs globally and restricted travel has brought aviation and travel industry to a halt.
Economic danger versus health risk:
, Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India said that "the economic danger of the outbreak was exponentially greater than its health risks". On 29 April, Indian billionaire NR Narayana Murthy said that if the lockdown continues, India may see more deaths due to hunger than from the pandemic.
In view of the scale of disruption caused by the pandemic, it is evident that the current downturn is fundamentally different from recessions. The sudden shrinkage in demand & increased unemployment is going to alter the business landscape. Adopting new principles like ‘shift towards localization, cash conservation, supply chain resilience and innovation’ will help businesses in treading a new path in this uncertain environment
PALAK MAURYAAMITY UNIVERSITY ,JAIPUR
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