India will be risking economic hara-kiri, if lockdown extends: Mahindra

Leading industrialist Anand Mahindra on Monday (May 11) said that if lockdown is extended for much longer duration then the country will be “risking economic hara-kiri”.

The Mahindra Group chairman said that while the lockdown has been able to save lakhs of lives, its further extension could lead to severe difficulties for weaker sections of the society.

“The number of new cases has risen, despite flattening the previous few days. With higher testing, a continuing rise is inevitable given the low absolute number of cases relative to our population & the rest of the world. We shouldn’t expect a swift flattening of the curve. But this doesn’t mean the lockdown hasn’t helped,” Mahindra said in a tweet.

This doesn’t mean the lockdown hasn’t helped. India’s avoided lakhs of potential deaths in its collective fight. India’s death rate per million is currently 1.4 compared to the global average at 35 & the US at 228. We’ve also bought time to enhance medical infrastucture (2/5) pic.twitter.com/tAxyn2ahn0

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) May 11, 2020

“India’s avoided lakhs of potential deaths in its collective fight. India’s death rate per million is currently 1.4 compared to the global average at 35 & the US at 228. We’ve also bought time to enhance medical infrastructure,” Mahindra noted.

“But if the lockdown is extended for much longer, the country will be risking economic hara-kiri,” he tweeted.

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“A functioning & growing economy is like an immune system for livelihoods. A lockdown weakens that immune system and most hurts the impoverished in our society,” he said.

Our goal should be to continue preventing avoidable deaths. We need to 1) Rapidly build field hospitals equipped with oxygen lines (ventilators aren’t critical now) 2) Deploy widespread testing and tracing. 3)Focus on containment not through zones but at sub pin code levels.(4/5)

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) May 11, 2020

Mahindra said that the country’s goal should be to continue preventing avoidable deaths.

“The country needs to rapidly build field hospitals equipped with oxygen lines, deploy widespread testing and tracing. Besides, the focus should be on containment not through zones but at sub pin code levels,” he tweeted.

“And finally, effort should be made to protect the elderly and the medically vulnerable sections of the society,” Mahindra said.

…and finally 4) Protect the elderly & the medically vulnerable. To quote a colleague: “We have to live with the virus. It’s not here on a tourist visa with an expiry date.” (5/5)

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) May 11, 2020

“We have to live with the virus. Its not here on a tourist visa with an expiry date,” Mahindra tweeted quoting a colleague.