Covid-19 has affected the majority of the population across the world directly or indirectly. Till date, in India, more than 2100 people have lost their lives, while the rest are living their lives in fear, uncertainty and social and financial insecurity. The economy of the country is crumpling with each passing day. The pandemic is throwing new challenges for both the government and its people further complicating India's economic slowdown.
The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) states that the unemployment rate in India has soared further to 27.11 per cent for the week ending 3rd May - which was under seven per cent in mid-March. In the future, there will be less opportunities to earn considering the present scenario of the country. The manufacturing and services sectors will take time to return to their previous output potential. The central government made an appeal, a few days ago, to the employers to pay salaries and wages to their employees and workers during the period of lockdown. The Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) and Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) had been asked to collect data on job losses, salary cuts and delayed payments so that it could be reviewed by the Prime Minister’s Office once the data was collected. Regardless of this fact, many corporate houses and industries did not wait even for a month and began cutting the pay of its employees in the range of 10-50 percent. There were airlines that advised their staff to take compulsory no-pay leave of one to three days, depending on employment grades (three days for senior-most employees). For the sake of retention of jobs, India's manufacturing companies decided to cut some fixed percentage from their salary if their production does not start on time when the units are allowed to function. Companies for their own survival are bound to cut the costs in many ways. Direct cut in salaries of employees or sending them for indefinite leave without pay are some examples. The intake of freshers may also be kept on hold till the situation improves. As per the market survey, 39% people are facing salary cuts while 15% are set to lose their jobs. The story doesn’t end there: the Government of Kerala, on 28th April 2020, promulgated an ordinance to override the High Court stay on deferment of the payment of salary of government employees for six days every month from April to August 2020. It means, one month salary of all the state government employees will be deferred in five instalments.
Worst affected are the people in the unorganised sector. Once the business of various establishments stopped, the sense of insecurity spread all around. The daily earners, by virtue of their understanding and emotional links with their native places, started to move with little savings and food. In rising temperatures, they kept walking with their small children and families. narrating a personal experience, on May 9th, 2020, my husband was allowed to drive down from Ranchi to Noida where I was staying alone for the past fifty-one days. All along the 1250 kilometers I requested him to take notes on what he saw on the road, so that I could pen down his feelings about how he felt when he saw migrant workers and their families walking to their homes drenched in sweat. Some people were walking in groups while some alone. Most of them carried heavy bags on their shoulder and head. There were little children happily walking with their hand clasped to their parents not realising how grueling the journey was. A few parents carried their young children in their arms too. There were even people seen cycling from one state to another. With limited food and water, limited amenities the migrant worker crisis has put a question on the country’s ability to protect its citizens. Not that the government has failed to take initiative to protect their people. There are special trains introduced to ferry migrants stranded in Covid-19 lockdown. Since May 1st, about 302 Shramik Special Trains have ferried around three lakh passengers home from different major cities to most of the places in UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha. But there are many who still remain unaware of the initiatives being taken by the government. The big questions will always remain, when will they return or will they return at all after the situation improves. If not, this will affect the infrastructure and agriculture sector leading to increased poverty and unemployment in the country.
Need of the hour is to think and act on ways and means to revive the country’s economy for the betterment of its people. There needs to be a well-thought out plan with adequate focus on social welfare, industrial revival and economic stimulus once the pandemic starts to recede.
(The writer is a Research Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs, Delhi, nsinha.rnc@gmail.com)