The Covid-19 pandemic, one of the biggest crises in the history of humanity, has pushed the world many steps backwards economically, while many new social challenges apart from various issues at the front of education, health and employment have also cropped up. An aspect of the pandemic, which has been least discussed, is cultural. 

As per my assumption, the ‘global’ fight against the Covid-19 was being fought on a scientific and medical ground based on a common protocol, but at the same time, different countries were approaching it in their own specific ‘local’ cultural terms. Based on some research, in this regard, I found the idea vindicated as a panel discussion on similar lines was held last year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States. The talk entitled “When Culture Meets Covid-19” attempted to understand against the framework of the ‘roles of social norms in countries’ the differing responses to the current pandemic through the lens of ‘national cultures and the response to the Covid-19 pandemic’. This was with the aim of studying how different countries had reacted in their dealing with the current epidemic, and how the national culture was expressed in and influenced their respective responses. 

However, the discussion had its limitations, focusing mainly on the responses to the health-related protocols adopted for the containment of the Covid-19 pandemic such as the reticence of people of different countries regarding wearing masks. An instance pointed out was that of China, where wearing masks during a pandemic was a readily accepted practice — unlike the situation in say, the United States or some European countries. The major reason behind this abiding of the health protocol was that ‘China’s authoritarian rulers provided less room for public dissent, in dictatorial governance culture no exemption was tolerated. But there was no discussion either on the importance of how sundry, specific elements of a national culture proved to be helpful or could be so in fighting Covid-19. Another major drawback of this discussion was that it was confined to the United States and some West European countries along with East Asian countries like China, Japan, Korea, and a couple of countries from West Asia. Unfortunately, India, with its rich cultural heritage, was completely sidelined although Indian cultural elements have played a substantial role in the war against the Covid-19 pandemic.

 A cursory assessment of the cases in India in comparison with the Covid-19 impact on various countries of the world, especially among the democratic and transparent developed nations, displayed a significantly lower mortality rate in the initial stage, despite India’s relatively less prosperity and less development and rudimentary healthcare infrastructure. 

The US, England, Italy, Spain, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Russia showed a higher mortality rate due to Covid-19 as compared to India. The data from the “Mortality Analyses” by Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center as of 20 May 2021 indicates that countries, comparatively equivalent to India in terms of economic development and health infrastructure, like Brazil, South Africa or Egypt, had a considerably larger — double, triple, and five-fold death rate.  

A major reason for the initial low mortality rate in India due to Covid-19, despite a relatively backward economic standing and poor health facilities, is the distinct cultural lifestyle of Indians. It’s a well-known fact that spices are used extensively in traditional Indian food. Turmeric, black pepper, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, parsley, cardamom, dry ginger, sweet neem, and mint etc. are an essential part of any Indian kitchen and have several health benefits. It was not without any grounds that the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, issued an official advisory for the use of a specific ‘Kaadha’, a herbal decoction of various spices and herbs available in the Indian household. Likewise, ‘milk with turmeric’ or ‘pouring oil in the nose’, parts of traditional Indian lifestyles were also emphasised upon given its various benefits. These instructions of the Government of India vastly benefited the mildly affected Covid-19 patients and a large segment of the Indian population.

It must be mentioned here that modern allopathy also considered these elements of Indian culture useful. For example, many super speciality hospitals of NCR, in addition to allopathic medicines, also provided ‘Kaadha’to Covid-19 patients. However, there is a growing need to create an adequate database by doing scientific research on these elements of Indian culture as a scientifically oriented study is lacking towards the same. Such a study will be useful not only for our health and wellbeing but it can be propagated all over the world, like yoga and turmeric latte which finds consumers worldwide, not to say acting as another booster for Indian soft power. 

The scientific capability of ancient Indian culture for fighting coronavirus or other viruses is beautifully delineated in a recent article published in a national English newspaper. The article maintains that extensive scientific research conducted in the last 20 years by globally renowned medical research institutes establish how a breathing exercise called ‘humming’ helps generate nitric oxide in the nose with the propensity for reducing the viral load of Covid-19 up to 99.9%. The same article indicates that ‘humming’ is synonymous with the ancient Indian ‘pranayama’ ‘Bhramari’ or the chanting of the mantra ‘Om’ by Indian yogis. 

It must be mentioned for the kind information of Westernised Indians or ‘rational’ sceptics, proudly and mistakenly displaying a negative predisposition and disdain towards ancient Indian knowledge system, who would have willingly ridiculed it calling it a ‘hoax’, that this article was written jointly by three doctors, including a former director of the Indian Council of Medical Research. Also, one among the three is a US-born and US-educated professor cum doctor. Similarly, yoga and pranayama, especially the ‘Anulom-Vilom’, and ‘Bhastrika’, are very helpful in maintaining oxygen level, along with strengthening the lungs and reducing post-Covid depression. Yoga and pranayama are widely followed across the world. But I suggest that it needs to be promoted worldwide as a supplementary or complementary remedy for allopathic treatment to deal with Covid-19. Indian embassies located in different countries should help amplify the same. 

As of now Covid-19 medication is still in its formative stage, a line of treatment followed initially is found to be superfluous at a later stage as in the case of plasma therapy; during such times fortifying one’s own immunity is only wise. Traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicine like ‘Giloy’ or ‘Guduchi’, found in every village-town of the country, and popularised/brought to modern Indian homes by yoga-guru Ramdev, along with herbs like ‘Ashwagandha’, ‘Amla’ have helped the majority of Indian families to boost their ‘Pratirodhak Kshamta’ or immunity. In addition, ‘Tulsi’, present in almost every Indian Hindu household for daily ‘puja’s prasad’ has also been found to be effective. Many health experts have endorsed the importance of these as immunity boosters. Although, in this context as well, modern scientific research is required with necessary data for adoption as a health protocol that can help boost the immunity of people across the world. Such studies would prove highly pertinent in coming times, as the danger of biological invasion or warfare from countries like China continues to loom large, whereby more new viruses can be (ab)used. In such cases, where the absence of an immediate cure of a new virus is threatening and damaging for nations, immunity will be the primary recourse to deal with the same.

 In the current scenario, the findings of a research paper, published in the January 2021 issue of ‘American Journal of Emergency Medicine’ becomes particularly important. It suggests that the ‘incentive spirometer’ is useful for the treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 patients. ‘spirometer exercise’, on the one side, will strengthen the lungs, and on the other, will stop the formation of mucus or phlegm, reducing the chances of contracting pneumonia. An incentive spirometer is a device used for practising deep breathing and blowing. Here, one must remember the tradition of blowing ‘Shankh’ or conch shell among Indian Hindu families during ‘puja’ and other occasions instilling healthy practices in the day to day life of people.

Another aspect of ancient Indian culture, which can be explored is purifying the environment as mentioned in our Vedas; the smoke of ‘Yajna’ purifies the atmosphere eliminating germs, bacteria and viruses.

One of my friends, a senior allopathic doctor in the Indian Army, advised that apart from following the treatment by modern medicines, a ‘Hawan’ in the house, as its smoke purifies the atmosphere at all times bringing about positivity.

Almost the same has been recommended by a senior Ayurvedic doctor, working in one of the most renowned allopathic hospitals in the country and Delhi, through a video message recently, in which ‘Hawan’ or smoke of ‘Guggul’, ‘Kapoor’, ‘Lohbaan’ etc. has been insisted on for the same reason of purification of the environment. The need of the time again is to give this practice a scientific bolstering through modern research. 

It has been our misfortune that post-Macaulay or even after 70 years of independence, we are ignorant of most of our ancient knowledge and scientific traditions. It would be pertinent and need of the hour that these elements of Indian culture be introduced in the school curriculum of NCERT, etc.

The fight against the Covid-19 pandemic will be on scientific and medical grounds but incorporating the scientific elements of ancient Indian culture will be a big help in defeating it.

The author teaches at the Central Department of Hindi, University of Delhi and has earlier taught in various American universities. The views expressed are personal.

An animated debate is happening about the consequences of the Covid-SARS-2 pandemic on the global economy. National and sub-national lockdowns have ground commerce in several goods and services to a halt. As per the World Bank, the global economy contracted by 4.3% in 2020. The IMF calculated this at about 3.3%. Sickness, death is likely to reduce workforce and productivity, and contribution to stagnation of demand. In the informal and gig economies, the flight of workers to the hinterland will also negatively impact labour-intensive sectors of the economy. This will reduce demand for credit and increase the likelihood of default. The scale of business is unlikely to insulate from such consequences. Economic uncertainly will tell on spending decisions such as car and house ownership, travel for leisure and vanity goods and services. Projected economic growth for 2021 and 2022 is lower than pre-Covid projections and driven by vaccines and fiscal support, the size of which varies between economies.

At the same time, the last year and a half have seen an explosion in online and platform-based services, such as remote working tools, especially virtual collaboration and meeting software, e-learning, entertainment, telemedicine and virtual medicine, online retail, logistics generally and home delivery of perishables and consumer durables and prepared meals in particular. There has also been an exponential expansion in pandemic related products and services such as vaccines, drugs used in the treatment of the disease and its complications, consumables (PPE kits, gloves, masks, sanitisers, diagnostic kits etc.), equipment (diagnostic facilities, ventilators and other respiratory support equipment, medical oxygen and its containers and transport etc.). Freelancing, electronics transfers, and certain gig jobs have also down well.                   

This narrow expansion is encouraging but inadequate to offset an overall slump in the economy. This will be especially hard on low- and middle-income countries where the number of people living in poverty will stop decreasing, or may even increase. Diversion of public expenditures to pandemic management will amplify this effect. Brookings Institution estimates that compared to 2019, 120 million additional people would be poor in 2020. Even as economies begin to recover after the pandemic, half of this increase (60 million) is likely to become permanent. In the short run, demands for protectionism, abrogation of trade agreements, hoarding of intellectual property, and on-shoring of jobs are likely to increase. This (by no means exhaustive) list of downsides need not be a cause for despair. Dark clouds over the horizon of most economies have a silver lining, which is my focus.

Techno-optimism has its pitfalls, but scientists, doctors, and other frontline workers need to be heard and heeded in a pandemic. I am happy to note that vaccine-deniers, charlatans, and conspiracy theorists have had a harder time rebutting the science-driven narrative this time than any other time I remember in a long time, although the battle is ongoing. The culture of science has also shifted towards faster research, collaboration, modelling and simulations. This greater receptivity can be used to make large investments in basic and applied research across the board. As a report by USA’s National Science Foundation observed in 1953, ‘It is truer than ever that basic research is the pacemaker of technological progress.’ Spin-offs from basic research have the potential of opening up whole new areas of economic activity and insuring nations against biological threats in the future. Research and healthcare-related employment are also likely to be more resistant to ‘task encroachment’ by intelligent machines and hence would provide greater stability to the labour market.

The fragility of material progress under the human and economic costs of the pandemic might catalyse a more receptive climate for widespread adoption of ideas like universal or conditional basic income, comprehensive health insurance and fiscal policies to reduce increasing inequality between the top and the remaining deciles of the economic pyramid. Agreements in these areas can provide a basis for strengthening a collaborative international order and for reimagining common human goals like the Sustainable Development Goals. 

In the long history of our planet, five major mass extinction events precipitated by meteorite impact, volcanic eruption, and ice age, eliminated anywhere from 80 to 96 per cent of all species on earth. After each such event, the remaining species became varied and developed under evolutionary pressures into new species to fill the vacated and newly created ecological niches. These radiations restored the diversity of life. The impacts of pandemics on the modern interconnected global economic ecosystems can be analysed by the same principles. As pandemic waves buffet us, whole ways of doing business will become extinct. Entire sectors will become anachronistic and obsolete; not everyone will have the skills to adapt. The sectors that survive and thrive in this crisis will need additional nurturing to restore economic activity to pre-Covid levels and to chart a longer growth trajectory. This will require a shift in the emphasis of professional and vocational education, strengthening logistics and local supply chains, and making large public and private investments in research into promising and emerging areas.

Lockdown, working and learning from home, and isolation have changed the quantum and quality of engagement with technology all over the world. This is especially true for digital-first societies like India. The emerging cultural patterns can be used to accelerate the transition to a digital and digitally-enabled economy. Telemedicine is a good example. From a gimmicky offering for people living in under-serviced remote areas, it has become the principal method of seeking medical advice even in the cities during the pandemic. Attractive models have made the services of expert doctors available and affordable. Some offerings allow for escalation from primary to tertiary care physicians from the security and comfort of the patient’s home. This fulfils a promise that physical healthcare infrastructure made but often failed to deliver in developing societies. Well-structured forms and filters save time in filling out basic patient information. The compulsion of patients to seek teleconsultation during lockdown has synergised with the reluctance and/or inability of doctors to hold physical clinics; many on both sides may elect to stick with the arrangement even in the longer run. Similar trends are evident in other online services. This will drive greater efficiencies, promote competitiveness, and benefit producers as well as consumers. This might be an important step towards a more sustainable and interconnected world that is more resilient, a world in which innovations in one corner would quickly disseminate to the smallest and farthest corners of economic activity. 

The capacity of a nation to harness these forces and opportunities would determine its prospects in the long run. It is far easier in a time of crisis when public opinion is more malleable and bold public policy options can be more freely explored. In the timeless admonition of Brutus, 

“There is a tide in the affairs of men.

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;

Omitted, all the voyage of their life

Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

On such a full sea are we now afloat,

And we must take the current when it serves,

Or lose our ventures.”

The writer is a physician and an IRS officer. The views expressed are personal.

In March 2021, it was reported that China’s elusive “maritime militia” may be gathering at the Whitsun Reef in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea. Subsequently, the Philippine Defense Secretary demanded their departure from Manila’s EEZ, and the Foreign Secretary further launched a diplomatic protest against the same. China remained defiant and denied the existence of a “maritime militia” by stating that these were just “fishing boats” taking shelter at the Whitsun Reef due to adverse weather conditions.

However, in May 2021, it was reported that the ships of the state-owned fishing company in charge of Sansha City’s maritime fleet are engaged in more than just fishing and that the shipping company had earlier been involved in projects with the Chinese PLA and also had access to classified national security information.

A closer study of these two incidents reveals that China has built the maritime militia as a part of its national maritime strategy to press sovereignty claims in the South China Sea using “grey zone operations”. Moreover, the use of maritime militia by China, it seems, borrows from the idea of Beijing militarising its man-made islands in the South China Sea under the garb of conducting economic activities, further exposing its “duality of purpose”. 

THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE CHINESE MARITIME MILITIA

China has always denied the existence of a maritime militia, but Andrew Erickson exposed the existence of maritime militia ships at the Whitsun Reef in a recent publication, which brought the attention of analysts to the issue once again. The US Department of Defense (DoD) identifies it with the name People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM).

However, what is curious is the fact that the PAFMM has existed for decades – it was first used in 1974 in the Battle of the Paracel Islands between China and South Vietnam. Building upon lessons from then, China has indulged in its upgradation in recent years.

In 2012, the Chinese government decided to inject heavy investments in its shipping industry based on a proposal made by 27 scholars at the Chinese Academy of Engineering to replace the small, old, wooden boats with larger, steel-hulled craft. Concomitantly, Xi Jinping also urged the South China Sea fishers to build boats in a speech in 2013. 

As a result, the government started offering subsidies to fishermen and shipping companies to build such boats. In fact, in 2018, a Party Secretary of a shipping company in China also revealed that to attain these subsidies, the ships had to adhere to certain specific stipulations – large size and powerful engines amongst others.

Ryan D. Martinson, while talking about the maritime militia gathering at the Whitsun Reef, argues that the Chinese fishers “could not afford these expensive crafts without some help”. As stated above, the fishing companies involved with PAFMM have links to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG), which trains it and works in tandem with it. But it begs the question — what are China’s objectives?

Derek Grossman  opines that the PAFMM plays a role in enforcing China’s sovereignty claims in the South China Sea and the East China Sea. By maintaining a presence in the maritime zones, the PAFMM aims at overwhelming the enemy with a swarm of fishing vessels. The smaller nations, while taking the bait, react by sending naval reinforcements. This gives China the perfect pretext to escalate the issue and seize new territory. Thus, the PAFMM has a dual purpose — fishing and the acquisition of territories. Maintaining presence also helps the PAFMM ships in gathering intelligence. 

Concurrently, a report by MP Consulting Group also sheds light on Guangdong’s Marine and Fisheries Board’s goal of helping “protect China’s rights in disputed maritime space in the South China Sea” and to promote “the construction of maritime militia forces”. Thus, a clear objective of the PAFMM is to bully the smaller nations in disputed maritime zones of the South China Sea and the East China Sea to press its maritime claims.

The evidence of the use of maritime militia by China is ample — the Battle of Paracel Islands with Vietnam in 1974; in Senkaku Islands against Japan in 1978; the dispute over the Scarborough Shoal against the Philippines in 2012; ramming Vietnamese fishing and coast guard vessels in 2014; and harassing Filipino fishermen at Sandy Cay and Pagasa Island in 2017. 

DUALITY OF PURPOSE: DRAWING LESSONS FROM THE PAST

In employing and upgrading the PAFMM, China has found an alternative to the expensive plan of militarising the islands it has built in the South China Sea. While both the plans may very well be complementary to each other in achieving the Chinese goals, the past provides us with some valuable insights into the similarities in both tactics.

The militarisation of the South China Sea by building man-made islands has posed two major problems to China — the fear of escalation and the subsequent intervention by the United States. To establish regional hegemony and eventually a China-led World Order, Beijing is trying to devise ways to reduce Washington’s role in the South and East China Seas. China understood the need for strong maritime strategy decades back and since then, has invested heavily in developing the same.

The use of PAFMM allows China to achieve the dual goals of pressing its sovereignty claims and avoiding a military escalation that may involve the US. The use of “fishing boats” does not qualify as an act of military aggression and is thus a grey zone. Therefore, China is effectively employing “grey zone operations” in the region to fulfil its goal of the acquisition of the South China Sea. It is a cheaper model of doing so and aids the coercive actions of the Chinese PLAN and Chinese Coast Guard (CCG). 

Militarisation of the man-made islands has been going on for years now and maritime militia offers yet another way of maritime power projection by China. It unmasks China’s “duality of purpose” in various other domains as well — fears of economic ports being turned into military ones; carrying out the “Uyghur Genocide” in detention camps classified as “re-education camps”; and carrying out debt-trap diplomacy via the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI). 

Needless to say, studying the militarisation of the South China Sea from a perspective of duality may serve as an effective way of threat perception by the regional players. A larger focus on identifying and reporting the activities of the Chinese maritime militia will help stakeholders to pre-empt its tactics in the South and the East China Sea. As Xi Jinping’s policy of expansionism continues unabated, taming the dragon at the seas will require larger coordination amongst concerned countries and inflicting costs on China. The onus of taking an initiative in this direction has to be on the US. The exploitation of “grey zones” by China might just have very black and white repercussions for regional stability and security.

The writer is a Project Manager, Red Lantern Analytica.

Design is a subject that has limitless possibilities, potential to improve the quality of life of millions, discover and rediscover ways of changing how we walk, sense, and possibly impact everything around us. As we dive into the finale of Dikshu Kukreja’s journey of exploring this diverse space and deciphering the various aspects of design in multiple industries and sectors, we take an insight into the one discipline that has more impact on our mundane routines more than we realise.

Deciphering Design with Dikshu has shared perspectives of varied spheres like interior design, fashion, culinary, handicraft, transportation, heritage, and public spaces. The finale episode captures an intuitive discourse between Dikshu Kukreja and Jay Panda, the National VP of BJP, on the aspects of policy design. Before we dive deeper, let us understand how it really concerns us, shapes us, and how its understanding is essential for expanding our awareness.

A single stroke of a pen, a draft of one legislation hold tremendous power of determining how cities are built, what their residents will be exposed to, and how that will mould your direction in life. Policies can shape the design direction of a nation and have a direct influence on our design sensibilities. We are living in a time where a nation’s overall development is not derived just out of its GDP, but also takes into consideration the quality of life, a new index called the Gross National Happiness that emphasises the paradigm shift of significance of qualitative factors and not just quantitative gains.

In this progressive journey, design in all aspects of different sectors plays a vital role in innovating unique ways of improving the experiences and policies of a particular nation. 

“I am from a business family. I used to complain about the system, and my friends told me to either do something about it or stop complaining, one thing led to another, and that is how I stumbled into politics. It was not something I had planned since my student days,” suggests the ‘Accidental Politician’, a term Panda refers to himself as.

In India, today, we have this window of opportunity where massive public projects are happening, be it the metros, expansion of highways and waterways, and more in scale that has rarely been done in any other nation. We ought to give policy-making the much-needed exposure and that would also be beneficial in understanding the relevance of infrastructure projects impacting our quality of life today, and in the coming years. 

“The moment such a policy is introduced in a city, it means that rather than building an urban sprawl where you keep building limitlessly and the city keeps expanding, you densify nodes in a city where you have an easy public commute, making it easier to go to work and come back home. I think policies in that sense can make a great deal of difference,” elaborates Dikshu as he delves deeper into discussing policy-making’s impact that has been existent in architectural designs’ yesteryears and the opportunities they unfold ahead.

As we come to the end of the episode, Panda eloquently describes how the policies in the coming days are going to shape the new design in India and the world as a whole. Where we come from, and the direction we are headed towards, each step is a conscious decision that needs to be taken thoughtfully and by being inclusive of all the other aspects that surround us. Both Dikshu and Panda have finely articulated the relevance of policies, design, architecture, and nation-building in their conversation.

Design — a word, a journey, a question, and an answer that has been intricately and delicately explored by Dikshu in this breakthrough show, that brought design-inspired facets of various subjects to the fore, is bound to leave us all feeling more aware and equipped to undertake our steps ahead.

Do not miss out on this grand finale of Deciphering Design with Dikshu. Log on to www.designwithdikshu.com to watch the entire episode and join Dikshu Kukreja in his journey of celebrating design by following and subscribing to the show. You can also directly connect with Dikshu Kukreja and find answers to your design-related questions by using the hashtag #designwithdikshu on Instagram or Twitter. For more updates follow @DikshuKukreja on Instagram and Twitter.

Yet again Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being targeted by the same set of people, be it nationally or internationally. Something is narrated in an international magazine and vested elements start quoting it even before it hits the stand. An impression is created that there is no tomorrow for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Is this all new for the Prime Minister?

Looking at his track record, he has had experienced many such instances like the Godhra riots, demonetisation, implementation of GST, banking reforms, agriculture reforms, Citizenship Amendment Act, Rafael, abrogation of Article 370, phase 1 of Covid-19 pandemic, and so on. In every such situation, PM Modi didn’t deter, didn’t react, he simply concentrated on his work and came out even stronger. He is class apart from other leaders as he has a unique ability to ignore the noise of such people and instead creates his noise through the act of performance.

The secret of his success is very open that he does politics of performance, reaching out to the last person, appeasement of none, and most importantly politics of creating wealth for none of his relatives, successors, and survivors. Which other leader of the present era can compete with a person having such rare qualities? To err is human and thus Narendra Modi too can’t be an exception. He too might have committed errors may be due to error of judgement or advises he relied upon. Despite this being the case, why Narendra Modi is still the most sought-after leader, the answer is lying beneath this fact. In Indian political history it happened for the first time that under the leadership of the same person, one party secured an average of 300 Lok Sabha seats in a row.

Similarly, there is another challenging situation posed before the Prime Minister as a result of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. This second wave indeed turned out to be deadly. This wave is differently affecting different places. No one anticipated the characteristics of this dynamic mutant, the Covid-19 cases may cross a figure of four lakhs that was four times the all-time high of the cases in the first wave or the requirement of medical oxygen would be five times more than the normal and almost 150% of the total aggregate available oxygen in the country. Suddenly the demand for oxygen beds, ventilator beds, oxygen concentrators, remdesivir, and steroids have gone up beyond imagination. There was mayhem for some time, people were right in expressing their anguish, the situation was out of control in some of the hospitals, and people died of non-availability of oxygen.

It was very obvious that the same set of people would not let this opportunity go; they started blaming PM Modi alone for election rallies, Kumbh Mela, no beds, no oxygen, no ventilators, and no vaccines, etc. They would blame him alleging that he doesn’t believe in democracy and the constitution at the same time when it comes to responsibility and accountability, Narendra Modi alone is responsible for all, be it the Election Commission, courts, or states though part of the federal structure. In such a situation, which is not new for him, the Prime Minister maintains his calm and cool and works harder on such challenges.

Leadership is all about steering through such turbulent times. Leaders do not function in a copybook way, they take all such decisions that are in the interest of the public and not what they wish for. In such times opposition raises the same point why Narendra Modi is not speaking? But leaders speak at an appropriate time and an appropriate forum. He will respond to all allegations in the parliament. He would certainly remind the opposition that he had a meeting with all the Chief Ministers on 17 March 2021 when cases in India per day was only 30,000, how he advised all Chief Ministers to take all measures immediately failing which it would be too late as the new variant is very dynamic and different from the first variant, how Mamata Banerjee and Bhupesh Baghel gave a miss to that important meeting, how the farmers agitation became the epicentre of Covid-19 situation in Punjab, and so on.

Much is being debated on the vaccination front in India. So far India is nearing 18 crore vaccination to the citizens. Even WHO appreciated the scientific approach of the Central government in prioritising the vaccination first to frontline workers followed by 60 years plus and 45 years plus with comorbidity followed by 45 years plus and then all above 18 years to 44 years. The vaccination was free for the citizens, however, various states including Maharashtra and West Bengal urged the Central government to allow states to have their policies to vaccinate their citizens. Accordingly, the Centre allowed all states to go for vaccination of 18 to 44 years population. Around 18 states announced that they would provide free vaccination. It’s almost one month now allowing the states to have their vaccination programmes. What is the status particularly in Maharashtra and West Bengal? They are still engaged in the blame game and holding the Centre responsible for their failure.

One can always grant 30 marks out of 100 marks for his satisfaction to the Prime Minister but in that case, one has to evaluate how many marks would he give to the best performing leader in the world. Assuming that the US has managed the Covid-19 pandemic well so far then one has to look at the population of the US which is one-fifth of India, the US faced one lakh cases per day that is like five lakh cases per day for India, the US has around six lakh deaths whereas India has three lakh deaths that is much less. The US has ten times better medical infrastructure than India. Also, what is the per capita income of India vis-à-vis the US? Thus what would be the marks granted to the US? Is this fair to show the dead bodies waiting in queues at crematories in India alone? Why six lakh burials in the US were not shown by any international media? Why these double standards?

Vishwas Pathak is the media head of BJP Maharashtra. The views expressed are personal. 

The Indian healthcare sector has the challenges of woefully inadequate infrastructure and unequal distribution of healthcare service providers, coupled with the need for and low-cost high-impact healthcare solutions for solving the burden of the diseases. The government spends just 1.1% of GDP on healthcare and is looking to increase it over the next few years. Even after our national independence, we did not make national healthcare a key priority, until recently. The Covid impact has shown that as a nation, we need to substantially increase our public investment into healthcare. 

The Indian healthcare system needs policy expediency to look at the larger issue of improving universal access. In that endeavour, it not only needs to increase public-private-partnerships with the requisite governance but also to encourage private sector participation in the entire value chain of the healthcare sector. We need to build newer physical infrastructure across India and increase medical and healthcare professionals’ headcount multi-fold.

ACCESSING DOCTORS, DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT USING DIGITAL-PUSH

A physical visit to a doctor/hospital can be replaced with tele/video consultation. Past one year of Covid lockdown has shown us countless examples of how diagnostic reports (even digital MRI films) have reached to the specialist doctor using the digital medium and how diagnosis have been done in time, saving precious lives and reducing time to manage the health issue. Not only does it save the consumer (patient) from the hassle of waiting in queues, it also keeps them safe from infections. From the doctor’s point of view also, it is more efficient in serving an increased number of patients and can improve the quality of interaction and diagnosis. These digital healthcare providers can tie up with pharmacies that can use hyper-local to deliver medicines at the patient doorstep. Digital healthcare adoption has proven to slash costs, enable faster diagnosis and increase the cure rate. The Government of India’s initiatives to encourage domestic production of healthcare equipment will further lower the costs of healthcare access.

 A National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) was announced by the Central government, and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) published a blueprint in late 2019, recommending the creation of a National Digital Health Ecosystem which allows for interoperability of digital health systems at the patient, hospital, and ancillary healthcare provider level. This aimed at establishing and managing the core digital health data and providing the infrastructure required for its continuous exchange.

The Digital Healthcare policy framework should be themed “affordable and universal healthcare access with full patient-centricity”. The policy framework should also address the concerns of a patient confidentiality and yet not slow down the adoption of digital tools for healthcare — right from diagnosis to treatment.

DATA PROTECTION

Almost every official document that citizens hold today comes with digital-accessability. It’s time to have all medical records digitally stored for easy access, with adequate data privacy protection. The Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 was put forward by the Government of India to bring about comprehensive changes to India’s current data protection rules. Currently, data is governed by the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the rules thereunder. The proposed PDP bill needs to be taken for detailed discussions and subsequent legislation. Post this, there could be industry-specific data policies and data-safeguard regulations by sectoral regulators.

In December 2020, the MOHFW approved a Health Data Management Policy (HDM Policy), largely based on the PDP Bill, to govern data in the ecosystem. The HDM Policy lays down rules for the recognition of entities in the data processing space and attempts to create a consent framework for the use and processing of personal data. When implemented, HDM Policy will impact the e-medical and e-pharmacy industries as it will not only guide the use of data collected by companies and institutions but also increase compliance obligations.

Putting together a common data format and setting minimum acceptable data standards and privacy norms is non-negotiable; it would allow for big-data collation with patient-confidentiality, thereby enabling analytics for preventive-healthcare solutions and predictions of disease outbreaks.

With the usage of digital tools such as AI-enabled medical wearables, patches, and devices, blockchain e-health records, the entire healthcare industry is set for disruption. Building capabilities to serve a population of over 1.3 billion people having different affordability patterns is a design challenge to healthcare experts and digital and technology entrepreneurs. Consumer engagement, technology efficiency, and service-delivery effectiveness seen in other e-sectors can be replicated easily and scaled up in the digital healthcare space.

Without any further politicisation, public health will remain a prerogative and the responsibility of the state; and policy commitment is needed not just during the pandemic but also during peaceful times.

Sooner or later, the platformisation of healthcare will take wings. Can the Indian policy-leaders encourage this with a development-oriented governance framework and become the wind beneath those wings?

Srinath Sridharan is an Independent markets commentator & Shuchita Gupta is a HealthTechpreneur and Angel investor.