Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a countrywide lockdown for three weeks, restricting a population of over 1.3 billion indoors, in an effort to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus, which has infected over 870 people, including 19 deaths, in India.
It was the right thing to do, US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) president Mukesh Aghi told PTI.
“Everywhere I’m hearing here (in the US) that it was the right thing to do and it shows (the PM’s) the sign of leadership. Hopefully in three-week time, things will get under more control in India,” he said.
“However, this challenging time can be changed into an opportunity for India,” Aghi said.
India is a “very lucrative market”, he said, “Yes, you have this disruption. This is all over the world and India is no exception. In fact, I see it’s an opportunity in this crisis for India.” He said with prime minister’s announcing of the lockdown, the message has gone to the world that India, unlike China, can be “open and transparent” in its policymaking.
“So basically, companies are going to move where they feel there’s more openness, more transparency,” Aghi said.
At the same time, he said, since India’s economy is integrated into the global economy, the government must ensure that the disruption in the global supply chain does not happen during the lockdown.
“The disruption in essential services, which India provides to the global markets, should not get impacted,” he said.