dear Anil, your article is a grim but true reflection of the present situation . Due to increased globalisation, the ripple effect of COVID 19 is seen in every corner of the world.There is loss of lives, jobs as well as slump in general economic activites. It has brought pain , hardships to individuals and organisations engaged in every sphere of production. The aviation , tourism and hospitality sectors ,as you mention ,have been hit hard due to massive cancellations of flights, tours ,events, hotel reservations, lockdowns, social distance protocols etc. these industries will have to adopt new survival strategies in the future. desperate situations require desperate measures such as cost cutting , multi tasking,orderliness , better sanitation, health awareness and safety protocols , virtualization etc.
It is true that In a pandemic the sheer volume of sick people is beyond the scope of normal medical and cremation services, but the govt. did not take timely action to increase the medical supplies or to control the spread. As you rightly say , India remains vulnerable to the fresh wave of pandemic.Stop, look and go will have to be the mantra .
the picture by Poonam Chawla is I think of Dubai. A part of the building is visible with arabic words , I remember seeing it on my visit last year. The video on wolf diplomacy is very insightful. You have mentioned the impact of digital divide on education due to online teaching. Being a teacher I experience it first hand. It is a very sad state of affairs. lets hope things improve and from new normal our life comes to its old normal self.
Thank you Vandana did your informed response. Yes, the picture is of Dubai. Your acknowledgement of experiencing the digital divide in education is revealing and startling. Also as teachers it must be a huge challenge to move from the black board to the virtual screen. Must be taking its toll. Another public policy challenge in the making courtesy covid. Salute to you teachers.
However, Stop, Look, Go may introduce many uncertainties in the entire range of economic activities starting from production plans, supply chain and inventory management at all levels. These uncertainties will ultimately reflect on prices since all economic agents will have to factor these in their business plans. One way would be to encourage recourse to forward contracts in a big way. The uncertainties in production plans and cashflows can be hedged in some manner this way and the resultant impact on costs can be minimised. However, this is not going to be easy since this particular way of doing business has not proliferated and may face capacity constraints in trading community.
As regards the Pandemic, I would reiterate that while the Politicians will have to do what is necessary, it is the bureaucracy which has to deliver better.
Thank you Madhukar. Your suggestion for forward contracts sounds good. Maybe someone like Devesh can weigh in on this. Agree with you the bureaucracy has to step upto the plate. But the politicians can't be pulling in different directions and expect top class execution. Basically every stakeholder has to pull their weight to bail India out of these extraordinary circumstances.
As a number very unlikely. Yet if were to get to 2030, in m view, with a population equipped with basic social capital, an infra (including health) overhaul accomplished and our neighbourhood secured then the blueprint for a new India is half ready.
Very aptly coined phrase Anil -"cooperative federalism". But this can possibly happen in the present situation of political bitterness, amongst two states of the same party; UP and Uttarakhand and Haryana and HP come to mind. On a serious note I understand the spirit of your suggestion; the country is in deep trouble on many fronts and an out of the box approach is required to pull us out of this mess. India can do it but first we have to unite as a country. Both sides need to concentrate on the problem and not a tit for tat rivalry that is going on.
Thank you Gautam. Ironic that we are so disunited given that the same maligned politicians pulled off GST - - One Nation, One Tax. Agree with you that we need an out of the box solution.
Your doubts are true.....our opposition exhibit so much immaturity and trying to score only brownies..... when there is no template to handle the issue.....govt is justfiably cautious
Thank you Mr Mahalingam. Agree the opposition is not pulling its weight. Surely the union government can generate the right optics to win them over or silence them. My point is that in this situation everybody has a responsibility.
I like your advisory for the Economy to Stop, Look , Go . It is true as stated by you that such strategy shall not be as easy as the vehicular movement on traffic signal . But then you have spoken about the New Normal which demands to formulate economic policy and strategy with every twist and turn . You have already hinted at platforms like GST Council meetings . Your last advice to have co-operative federalism is what is expected not only at GST Council but at all platforms to revive Jaan as well as Jahan ! Well written Anil for giving expression to the demand of the time .
dear Anil, your article is a grim but true reflection of the present situation . Due to increased globalisation, the ripple effect of COVID 19 is seen in every corner of the world.There is loss of lives, jobs as well as slump in general economic activites. It has brought pain , hardships to individuals and organisations engaged in every sphere of production. The aviation , tourism and hospitality sectors ,as you mention ,have been hit hard due to massive cancellations of flights, tours ,events, hotel reservations, lockdowns, social distance protocols etc. these industries will have to adopt new survival strategies in the future. desperate situations require desperate measures such as cost cutting , multi tasking,orderliness , better sanitation, health awareness and safety protocols , virtualization etc.
It is true that In a pandemic the sheer volume of sick people is beyond the scope of normal medical and cremation services, but the govt. did not take timely action to increase the medical supplies or to control the spread. As you rightly say , India remains vulnerable to the fresh wave of pandemic.Stop, look and go will have to be the mantra .
the picture by Poonam Chawla is I think of Dubai. A part of the building is visible with arabic words , I remember seeing it on my visit last year. The video on wolf diplomacy is very insightful. You have mentioned the impact of digital divide on education due to online teaching. Being a teacher I experience it first hand. It is a very sad state of affairs. lets hope things improve and from new normal our life comes to its old normal self.
Thank you Vandana did your informed response. Yes, the picture is of Dubai. Your acknowledgement of experiencing the digital divide in education is revealing and startling. Also as teachers it must be a huge challenge to move from the black board to the virtual screen. Must be taking its toll. Another public policy challenge in the making courtesy covid. Salute to you teachers.
The usual ways of business cannot continue.
However, Stop, Look, Go may introduce many uncertainties in the entire range of economic activities starting from production plans, supply chain and inventory management at all levels. These uncertainties will ultimately reflect on prices since all economic agents will have to factor these in their business plans. One way would be to encourage recourse to forward contracts in a big way. The uncertainties in production plans and cashflows can be hedged in some manner this way and the resultant impact on costs can be minimised. However, this is not going to be easy since this particular way of doing business has not proliferated and may face capacity constraints in trading community.
As regards the Pandemic, I would reiterate that while the Politicians will have to do what is necessary, it is the bureaucracy which has to deliver better.
Thank you Madhukar. Your suggestion for forward contracts sounds good. Maybe someone like Devesh can weigh in on this. Agree with you the bureaucracy has to step upto the plate. But the politicians can't be pulling in different directions and expect top class execution. Basically every stakeholder has to pull their weight to bail India out of these extraordinary circumstances.
With covid's impact do you think reaching +5,000 USD Nominal is possible in 2030?
As a number very unlikely. Yet if were to get to 2030, in m view, with a population equipped with basic social capital, an infra (including health) overhaul accomplished and our neighbourhood secured then the blueprint for a new India is half ready.
Very aptly coined phrase Anil -"cooperative federalism". But this can possibly happen in the present situation of political bitterness, amongst two states of the same party; UP and Uttarakhand and Haryana and HP come to mind. On a serious note I understand the spirit of your suggestion; the country is in deep trouble on many fronts and an out of the box approach is required to pull us out of this mess. India can do it but first we have to unite as a country. Both sides need to concentrate on the problem and not a tit for tat rivalry that is going on.
Thank you Gautam. Ironic that we are so disunited given that the same maligned politicians pulled off GST - - One Nation, One Tax. Agree with you that we need an out of the box solution.
Your doubts are true.....our opposition exhibit so much immaturity and trying to score only brownies..... when there is no template to handle the issue.....govt is justfiably cautious
Thank you Mr Mahalingam. Agree the opposition is not pulling its weight. Surely the union government can generate the right optics to win them over or silence them. My point is that in this situation everybody has a responsibility.
I like your advisory for the Economy to Stop, Look , Go . It is true as stated by you that such strategy shall not be as easy as the vehicular movement on traffic signal . But then you have spoken about the New Normal which demands to formulate economic policy and strategy with every twist and turn . You have already hinted at platforms like GST Council meetings . Your last advice to have co-operative federalism is what is expected not only at GST Council but at all platforms to revive Jaan as well as Jahan ! Well written Anil for giving expression to the demand of the time .
Thank you Balesh. Hope for the best.
Extremely well written Anil !!
Thank you Kapil. Stay safe.