BENGALURU: As the state prepares for the extended lockdown till May 17, the challenge now will be to revive the economy even as the containment measures are put in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. In an interview, Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan tells The New Sunday Express that people have accepted the reality and responded to it in a responsible manner. It is only a matter of time for the economy to bounce back and we overcome the threat posed by Covid-19, he said.
Excerpts from the interview.
What is your assessment of the situation?
People have accepted the situation and the challenge. They are responding in a very responsible way to contain the spread of the virus. We are surprised by the unprecedented manner in which people are responding and extending full cooperation to the government. We had not seen such a lockdown even during war time. Looking at the challenges before us, we have been successful in containing the spread of the virus.
Are we prepared to handle the situation if there is a sudden spurt in numbers?
Yes, we are prepared. Thanks to several measures taken during the lockdown period, we are in a much better position to handle any situation. Now, we have more laboratories for testing samples, better understanding of the virus and its behaviour.
We know that persons above 60 years of age with underlying illness are more vulnerable and they need to be protected. If they are protected, probably it will be a matter of only infection and there will not be any casualties. Currently, all those infected are taken to hospital, though all of them do not need hospitalization. That was done because of the scare and stigma attached to the virus. In the days to come, probably they can be treated at home as most of them are asymptomatic and do not require much treatment.
Now, what are the challenges before the government?
Revival of the economy and preventing transmission of the virus are the most important challenges before us. Enforcement of physical distancing, hygiene and other measures to prevent the spread of the virus is very important and we also need to address issues related to supply-chain management. It’s just a matter of time, everything will come back to normalcy. We have to stay focused and continue to take appropriate measures both to revive the economy and fight the virus.
How is IT/BT sector responding to the lockdown?
Most of them are happy with ‘Work From Home’ arrangement. Working from offices will also gradually increase. Some increase in the number of people working from office can be seen from Monday onwards. ‘Work From Home’ model has become very successful. In many sectors, firms will be cutting down on the working space and many changes will take place and it will be like a chain reaction. We will have a better understanding of the situation in the days to come.
Small and medium industries are severely hit. How do you view this situation?
There is a vast scope for development in our country as we have not reached saturation in any sector. Initially, these kind of apprehensions will be there till the economy gets back to normalcy and growth rate increases. Within a matter of time, everything will return to normalcy and growth rate too will be on a higher side. Manufacturing sector is going to grow leaps and bounds. Entire world used to source products from China and dependency on that country will be reduced by 50 per cent . It will be sourced from many countries and India has a very good opportunity. We need to seize this opportunity. There is lot of scope for us to grow.