BY D.C. PATHAK
A substantial GDP contraction, that was anticipated, confirms how a serious aggravation was caused to the economic downturn in India by the lockdown compelled by the Corona pandemic. The Modi government is already working on the economic revival over the last few weeks of Unlock — rightly emphasising on the pattern of ‘vocal for local’ since a robust indigenous base has been an acknowledged strong point of Indian market, historically speaking. Sustained possibly by India’s tradition and culture, this base remained intact even through the advent of the ‘Age of Information’ that was brought in by the success of the IT revolution.
In the era of ‘knowledge economy’ that had globalisation as its hallmark, a great distinction of the Indian economic scene was that it combined a top of the line IT-based segment with a traditional ‘produce, sell and profit’ part resting on the domestic supply chain. The indigenous economy with its upshot of ‘savings’ is believed to have helped India to tide over the global economic downturn of 2008. The country has hopes of an assured success in working for its economic revival — slow but steady — from local markets upwards, outside of the dependence on imports and exports.
Post-lockdown business initiatives have one equaliser in the world of competition — submission to the triple protocol of ‘thermal testing’, ‘social distancing with mask’ and ‘hand hygiene against surface touch’. This is the new compulsion about conducting business, for players big or small, that slows down the customer flow and curtails the strength of employees handling work at any given time. The interrelated businesses of travel, tourism and hospitality have taken a hit and these sectors may recover at an uncertain pace. Trade in essential products and services including medical supplies, however, is already catching up and localised or even zonal deliveries are being organised by firms with the help of minimal computerisation — the global reach of establishments like Amazon is in a way being matched by Indian businesses offering online services in an immediate setting. Luxury items and high-end products of global brands will take some time in reestablishing their customer connect but in India there are already plenty of ‘green shoots’ helping the local markets to come into full swing. India’s economy will recover faster if ‘manufacturing’ is located more and more on its own soil.
Job loss remains the primary reason for economic distress and some form of unemployment dole may have to be provided by the government selectively for a period to check domestic unrplay a part which was driving the narrative of a series and to experience the rigours of a long shooting schedule where you are in almost every frame of the show.”
“Being Dr. Meera Kapoor and attempting to experience the emotionally tumultuous ride that she is on throughout the season is a journey that any actor would desire. And the appreciation from the awards and the audiences has been a huge bonus. The second season will present Meera with a set of different challenges and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into the material of this season. I will be in Coonoor for two months for the shoot. After being holed up at home for so many months, I look forward to the beauty of the hills,” she added.
She is also awaiting the streaming of her other projects “Mirzapur Season 2” and Mira Nair’s “A Suitable Boy”.
–IANS
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