Lockdown Extension Is Wise, But Where Is The Economic Package?
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2020-05-01 21:47:17
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
The country-wide lockdown in India has been extended for a further period of 14 days. Before that, the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued a detailed list of red, orange and green zones. Accordingly, several restrictions have been lifted from orange and green zones while the red zones continue to be under lockdown with some relaxation. There was immense pressure on the government to remove travel and transport restrictions and allow a wide range of economic activity. But considering the spurt in fresh cases in the red zones and the propensity of Indians to throw all caution to the winds once restrictions are removed, the government has done well not to succumb to such pressure and keep restrictions in place.
Although the government has been giving out figures of an increasing number of districts where no new cases have been reported in the last 14 or 7 days, that is just a barometer to show that community transmission has not happened as of now. But with migrants now being allowed to go back home from high-risk areas, this situation can change very fast despite all the precautions. Hence, it is advisable to keep travel restrictions in place. Hence, no movement is being allowed by air, rail or road. Metro services across India are being kept suspended. Taxi cabs and private vehicles are being allowed in orange and red zones with restrictions and intra-city buses can also run in these zones with 50 percent passengers. A lot of manufacturing and economic activity is also being allowed in these zones.
This is a sensible graded approach to exit the lockdown. With Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, along with other important cities and big towns in the red zone, there will be a while before things return to normal. Since the government has taken the decision to allow stranded people to go back by road and now by rail, the strategy for the next 14 days should be to keep the focus on this movement and ensure that it does not result in a wider spread of the virus. One feels that if things are under control in the states and areas where these migrants return, then further relaxations can be announced before May 17. By that date, if several orange zones become green and the red zones show a declining tendency, then the lifting of the restrictions can be speeded up. But one thing is certain: travel restrictions by air, rail or road need to be kept in place for as long as needed to stop the spread of the virus.
The government must now come out with a package for the industry. It should also include big units in its scheme of things as two months of inactivity has put them under stress too. The weightage in relief can be more for MSME but big units should not be excluded. Also, the moratorium on repayment of loans and interest must be extended for another three months up to September. Direct money transfer to the poor must also be extended for another three months. The government must seriously think of allowing the fiscal deficit to expand more as there is no other way revenues will come in the Central kitty. As states are suffering the most because health is a state subject and their revenue streams have dried up due to economic inactivity, the Centre must find a way to release their due payments, along with the amount for Covid-19 related expenditure, as fast as possible.
