Although it's still a full week left for the lockdown to get lifted, the foremost issue now is the way forward to the exit and the strategy to be applied in the process. Choosing the correct one will be the single-most important determinant here since it’s now not only a question of saving lives, but also taking the first initiatives for saving livelihoods by kick-starting the economy. This is now a dual challenge altogether unlike the lockdown decision which had to be taken for saving millions of lives and at the cost of sacrificing the economy of course. 

It’s nothing difficult to assess how much tight the situation is since after more than 35 days of a full nationwide standstill position, the problems in their totality can aptly be termed a ‘double whammy’ of sorts. Cases of deaths and positive additions continue pouring in with each passing hour and as the official lockdown is drawing near to its end, the economy, proportionately is slipping towards a further precarious state. It’s the same case for all affected economies in the world and just as the hunt for the vaccine is on, it’s also the same for embarking on the right exit strategy. For India, like others, the optimal risk-adjusted strategy is the option left now according to the economic planners and thinkers and it’s indeed the need of the moment. Balancing the priorities that will set most of the economic activities into motion making sure along with that there will be minimal chances of resurgence of the deadly virus is a task that is totally new and as such it is really a herculean task to devise the most error-free route. But, much will also depend on the development about to take place over the coming seven days and it is almost obvious that it will be nearly impossible to arrive at a decision that will have a blanket effect on the country. Looking at the overall Indian Covid-19 picture, it is clear that as there are wide zone-wise variations in terms of cases and casualties, plans and priorities are also expected to be in consonance with this fact, taking into consideration the last moment scenario and the respective zonal trends.

Whatever the decisions are, the fundamentals must hinge on the most vital factor which is to financially empower the most vulnerable sections of the lockdown-affected people of the country by means that are most suitable to the current circumstances. Even many protocol-driven hardline economists are of the opinion that if this requires printing notes, government mustn’t think twice.

A national health emergency has now taken the dimension of an economic emergency. Only a correct exit methodology can bail the nation out from this dual consternation. 

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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