Context: The lessons learned during the pandemic should guide Indian towards building back better.
Impact of Pandemic:
Better air quality: In 2019, 21 Indian cities featured as the world’s 30 worst polluted cities. During the lockdown, the list had only two Indian cities.
A few weeks into the nationwide lockdown, PM10 reduced by 60% in Delhi’s air compared to pre-Covid times. PM2.5 was down by 39% too.
Mumbai’s best-ever AQI of 17 was recorded in June 2020, compared with 400 in January 2019.
On migrant workers:
Loss of income and jobs due to extreme lockdowns
Livelihood in crowded spaces with poor access to ventilation, water and sanitation. Covid-19 made these living conditions very unsafe, and many migrants to reverse-migrate back to villages.
On Economy and Industry:
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) suffered during the pandemic.
Airlines are flying at near-capacity, although on a restricted schedule.
Two-wheeler manufacturing companies report that they are back to 80% capacity utilization compared to pre-COVID levels.
In this crisis, we’ve seen the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal No. 8 (SDG 8) — decent work and economic growth — suffer.
Conclusion:
The economist Milton Friedman had once said, ‘Only a crisis — actual or perceived — produces real change. We are in a crisis if ever there was one. And one of the ideas lying around is that of building back better.
Of pursuing low climate solutions, of accelerating the path to a net-zero emission world, of following the path of ‘alternativism’ to build a better, more humane world.
Real profit is created by ensuring the well-being of peopleand the planet. Otherwise, the profit realized is the value taken away from future generations.
Solutions are going to be found through constant experimentation and application of new methods, whether they are new business models, new hiring practices, or a unique way of leveraging new technology.