0
Indians
0
Estimated to sink into poverty
0
Dollars lost for Indian economy
Food Security in Times of Covid
Social distancing is impossible
The effect of the pandemic on people’s health was tremendous, with a population of 1.38 billion and a very high population density, regulations like social distancing are rather unrealistic. In places like Dharavi, the biggest slum in India, people live with up to 8 to 10 people in a single hut, sharing only 10 square meters. An inadequacy of the healthcare system contributed further to this although the government was quick to respond by setting up health facilities in schools and other public spaces.
Economic Impact
The pandemic, however, also brought with it the largest COVID-19 lockdown in the world as mentioned by the lancet (2020). One of the most populous nations in the world, was brought to a standstill on March 24th 2020. The lockdown itself has had many repercussions ranging from unemployment, basic necessity scarcity, all the way to an increasing pressure on mental health due to the inability of providing for one’s family.
It has had a large effect on the economy which was already on a downturn, costing the Indian economy an estimated 7-8 crore rupees (95 billion dollars) . It was estimated that 400 million workers in India may sink into poverty due to the effects of the lockdown.
Food Security
Due to the measures, transportation services were hindered reducing the provision and availability of food. Along with this came the closure of AWCs ( Agwanandi Centers) which are responsible for giving many of India’s lower class children their only reliable meal of the day.
Although NGO’s along with governmental organisations worked hard to provide for those in need with so many mouths to feed it was simply beyond manageable. This is one of the main reasons for the termination of lockdown regulations as it was becoming too difficult to sustain without the repercussions being irreversible. The prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, has requested forgiveness for the strict restrictions put on his “brothers and sisters” and the effects this had on their livelihood.
AYUSH Ministry
AYUSH is a government ministry which is responsible for the education, research and propagation of indigenous alternative medicine systems in India. In times of COVID, they issued guidelines for preventative measures for corona, as well as measures to help individuals cope with the symptoms of corona.
With no substantial tools to battle the COVID-19 virus, India chose to look towards its age-old medicinal systems for support. Here they suggest that maintaining proper physical and mental health using naturopathic remedies and techniques might be a good way to help cope with this virus with the lockdown regulations failing to have effect in a country where a complete lockdown and pandemic regulations are almost impossible to follow.
In conclusion
Some of the greatest effects of the pandemic were not due to the virus itself but rather the lockdown, its regulations, and its effects on the normal processes of life. This lockdown put a great strain on people’s ability to provide for themselves thus instilling one of the most primordial fears, that of survival. This has highlighted the basic problem of food security and most importantly the extent to which people were dependent on external sources and bodies of support to help sustain them. With the pandemic regu;ations failing to have proper effect, we turn to the guidelines drawn by the AYUSH ministry suggesting that proper health and immunity boosting might be a good alternative. This project aims to provide independence and control over the production of one’s basic sustenance to better cope with disaster situations, like the ones that were brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on using immunity boosting crops with high nutritional value that can provide the basis for home remedies to improve both mental and physical health to help cope with the virus.
