A
team of experts and Indian scientists, associated with an autonomous technology
think tank, the Dept. of Science and Technology, are now exerting their
efforts to prepare a white paper charting the course for the revival of Indian
economy after the coronavirus pandemic gets over.
The while paper aimed to strategies’ on
the revival of post-Covid 19 Indian economy will be prepared by the experts of
The Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) “by
virtue of its mandate of thinking for future,” says the government release.
The white paper focuses on Make in India
initiatives, the commercialization of indigenous technology and reduction of
imports in a post-coronavirus India.
“This document would mainly focus on
strengthening Make in India initiatives, commercialization of Indigenous
technology, developing a technology-driven transparent Public Distribution
System (PDS), efficient rural health care delivery, reduction of import,
adoption of emerging technology domains like AI, Machine Learning, Data
Analytics and many more,” says the document.
The white paper will soon be ready for
submission to the decision-making authorities of the Government.
Indian economy, like the rest of the
world, is suffering due to the outbreak of the pandemic which is said to be the
trigger for the worst recession seen since the great depression during the
1930s.
India’s economic growth forecast has been
cut down drastically by the IMF for the current fiscal at 1.9%, however, it
predicts a robust revival in the economy by the next fiscal.
The government has already begun relaxing the strict lock-down restrictions for a gradual resumption of some commercial activity—mainly in the rural sector and farming—which potentially allows for the resumption of 60% of the economy, says Nomura Holdings Inc. However, the output for the year started April 1 is likely to shrink by 0.4% compared with the growth of 4.6% the previous year. There are also concerns over labor shortages that could last for as long as six months and loss of jobs that could extend to 40 million before the end of the year.
Almost all sectors including manufacturing, trade, transport, tourism, education, healthcare have been hit and the government feels that the virus containment strategy also has a big role to play on the overall economic impact on the economy.