Who stands tall with the small business?

The lack of support will lead to a destruction of the small business, as they have the least depth in reserves. However, it is the small and medium businesses in most countries that are among the largest employers

When the government announced that 80 crore Indians have been given food packets of lentils and rice/flour, reality hit hard. Reality that we are still a poor nation, a nation where people need to be given survival aid. So much for all the comparatives on what much of the first world is doing to support small business and employment and what India must do.

Representative Image/Bloomberg

I run a small business in the hospitality sector, one of the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. What can I expect from a government busy in giving basics to 800 crore? Not much I suppose. But then, what have we ever got?

Ever since the lockdown and the doom and gloom which surround us, challenges have been thrown at small business and its employees. Some have closed shop; some are on the verge of doing so, and others are struggling.

Not once in this pandemic has the government or its minions deemed it fit to call or offer a word of support. Agencies that are quick to remind us of the dos and don’ts of due dates and compliances, are missing in action. Compare this with presidents, prime ministers, governors and mayors in countries such as Canada, the US, the UK, Germany, Australia and New Zealand who have come out in support of small business, local communities and jobs. These countries and governments realise that for the continuity of their economy and their way of life, it is important to support small and medium businesses. The lack of any meaningful support will lead to a destruction of small business, as by their nature they have the least depth in reserves and access to funds. However, it is the small and medium business in most countries that are among the largest employers. This holds true for India as well.

The ramifications of this destruction will be felt for long and a lot of things will change permanently. Large-scale global events have had that impact historically. One has only to look back at the impact of the Spanish flu a century ago.

The Indian economy was sputtering even before the pandemic hit, no matter how well the numbers are polished and presented, it will be hard to escape the fact that we have record unemployment and an unprecedented contraction in the economy. We are a consumption-driven economy; and it is the consumption story of the Indian economy which is hit hardest as the government failed in providing direct cash transfers to employers or employees.

This will possibly lead to a catalyst effect in further slowing the economy, leading to closure of many businesses and resulting job losses. The number of people being pushed into penury will be huge as defaults and bankruptcies rise. Most small and medium businesses that had emerged as a result of the opening of the economy and helped countless people exit poverty and attain a higher standard of living will probably be shattered. There was a sense of self-worth and confidence which had crept into the citizens of modern India and no longer did we consider ourselves a third world nation. Today, that dream lies shattered for many.

FIND BALANCE IN FIGHT AGAINST COVID

The relationship of the Indian state with small business is at best that of indifference, for the most part predatory.

A state that is paid for and maintained by a multitude of taxpayers through a never-ending multi-layered taxation system nips and cuts continuously. Where amid all this destruction is my promised government ‘of, by and for the people’?

Public memory is short, so indulge me while I remind you how not so long ago, we queued up for a visa and the foreign job…good cheap Indian labour.

Once again as the doors of opportunity close in our country, people will have to look outwards. Don’t kill the dream at home, All it will take is a bit of candour on your part, step out of your ivory towers and help rebuild what was so rudely shut, find a balance in the fight with this disease. Not as drill masters on a parade but as supporters and mentors would to a long-distance runner in a marathon.

The writer, Abhay Jagat, is a Chandigarh-based food entrepreneur

The writer is a Chandigarh-based food entrepreneur. Views expressed are personal