India is the country with the second largest population base in the world. Once the outbreak is concentrated, the consequences will be unimaginable. In order to prevent and control the epidemic, Indian Prime Minister Modi announced a national blockade from March 25, which is expected to last 21 days.
On April 14, India's 21-day blockade is coming to an end. However, according to Indian media reports, because the epidemic is still in a rapid outbreak period, India intends to extend the national blockade for two weeks.
According to the Times of India, Indian Prime Minister Modi held a 4-hour video conference with the chief ministers of 13 states on the 11th to discuss whether to extend the national blockade period until the end of April. Sources revealed after the meeting that Modi had agreed to extend the national blockade for two weeks and is expected to announce this decision on April 14. In addition, although Prime Minister Modi has not yet announced, five states have announced the extension of their state blockade until April 30.
According to the statistics of the authoritative organization Johns Hopkins University, as of April 13, India had diagnosed a total of 9205 cases, and the potential "epicenter" risk increased. In particular, India ’s largest slum has had deaths early this month. Its squeezing space, worrying sanitation (average 1440 people share a toilet), and locals ’reluctance to undergo new crown tests have all made this slum a virus spread The most risky place is that these people are workers made in India.
The outbreak is imminent, but India is considering resuming work after extending the blockade
However, in this case, India is considering resuming production in some manufacturing industries because of excessive economic losses. According to the latest report from China Daily on April 13, two sources said that India is drafting an instruction to support the resumption of some manufacturing operations after April 15 to recover some economic losses. In this regard, India temporarily declined to comment.
According to a letter to the Ministry of the Interior of India, the list of manufacturing industries that can be resumed includes automobile, textile, defense, electronics and other manufacturing industries. At the same time, India also suggested that in order to ensure the safety of employees, the number of shifts and employees should be reduced, and social distance should also be ensured when working. However, almost all workers in these industries are from slums. India is advancing and retreating: if the resumption plan is implemented, it will likely cause a wave of outbreaks; and if it is rejected, the Indian economy will not be able to bear it.
In fact, as early as the end of March, India ’s related manufacturing industries and some export industries could not bear the economic losses under the Indian blockade, and are actively seeking policy support to restart production and exports. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), India ’s actual economic losses affected by the epidemic will reach 50 billion US dollars; the International Consumer Solidarity and Trust Association (CUTS) believes that more than that, India ’s losses should be as high as 90 billion US dollars.
The most important thing is that Indian companies not only have to face the huge loss of production and export under the blockade measures, but also face the embarrassment of other overseas markets taking orders that were originally their own. This means that even if India lifts the blockade in the future, it is still unknown whether Indian companies can get back their original orders. According to a recent report from the Indian Express, on March 30, representatives of the Indian export industry reported to the Indian Ministry of Industry and Commerce that if India cannot resume work as soon as possible, it is tantamount to handing over orders made in India to Chinese companies.
India is concerned that Indian manufacturing is being replaced by Chinese companies and once wanted to use the epidemic to grab orders from Chinese companies
In an interview with the "Indian Express", the Director General of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations also expressed concern that once India has a long-term blockade, orders originally made in India are equivalent to giving to China and other countries. It's hard to get it back.
Take the most famous generic drug industry in India as an example. As we all know, India is the world's cheap pharmacy. However, due to India ’s recent ban on the export of drugs, it is very difficult to export drugs, and the Indian pharmaceutical international market is quickly being seized by China. The Indian export representative said that if India does not resume drug exports as soon as possible, India ’s international market is likely to be taken over by China. Under this competitive pressure, India was slightly implied by the United States to remove the export restrictions of 24 drugs.
Prior to February, the time-consuming Chinese company delayed the resumption of work and was unable to deliver the order on time. India also wanted to take this opportunity to fill this temporary market gap. Additional charges for various commodities. However, the Chinese company finally survived the test and resumed production of most orders after China controlled the epidemic.
Hon Hai and Wistron emphasized on April 13 that the schedule for the resumption of the Indian factory will be determined by local government announcement.
