The COVID 19 pandemic has affected all and sundry across the world. Individuals, businesses, economies, health systems, nations, communities; in fact, nothing has escaped its impact. The possibly last similar pandemic was the Spanish Flu that spread worldwide from 1918-1919. There are reports which estimate that about 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. What will be the ultimate human impact that the COVID 19 pandemic will take from the world only time will tell.
Though it may sound politically incorrect, and if one is personally affected then these discussions will sound downright cruel, the high body count should not be the only number that should be discussed when reviewing, monitoring and considering solutions to handle this pandemic.
Discussions on health and safety measures to move out from the pandemic and take steps to curb the recurrence of such pandemics will definitely be given the topmost priority, rightly so. Discussions on the economic impact are also essential, if not equally important.
The most visible economic impact of such an outbreak is when health agencies start adding up the cost of treating infected people, the cost of prevention and the cost of recurrence — the outlays for drugs, doctors’ visits, and hospitalizations.
What is required are meaningful discussions to understand the potential economic and financial cost of this pandemic across all segments of the economy.
This report is to highlight how this has impacted or will impact Indian businesses particularly the MSME sector and generate a discussion on solutions/alternatives. Businesses have been, are being and will continue to be impacted due to this pandemic of gigantic proportions. The author is sure that the Governments around the globe are working on immediate, short term, medium-term and long term measures to ensure business revival, sustenance and continuity.
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