Even as India awaits a response from Saudi Arabia on convening a video conference of G-20 nations, the Narendra Modi government is prepared to collaborate on the Covid-19 outbreak so that there is global transparency and accountability in future epidemics. Last week, Prime Minister Modi had called up Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to request that his father King Salman, convenor of G-20, call a virtual meeting on the pandemic. While Chinese Global Times has tweeted blaming Italy for the outbreak on account of the “unexplained strain of pneumonia in November and December 2019”, the Modi government is hoping that the high April temperatures may limit the spread of the deadly virus. It is also closely monitoring the response of Hydroxy-Chloroquine drug to treatment of the Covid-19 disease.
“Our priorities are very clear. We have to limit the spread in India and do hope that high temperatures kill the virus. Never before have we bet so much on a heat wave. We have already closed down international travel but now will have to plan for additional flights to evacuate needy or sick Indians abroad. There may be many people returning from abroad who would feel inconvenienced due to the lockdown. The government is fully aware of the situation and is doing its best. Officers and employees are putting in extra hours and days of work to make their safe return possible,” said a senior ministry of external affairs official.
The Modi government is all for data sharing with affected countries including China and not a blame game in context of the spread of Covid-19.
It has noted that China has stepped up its public relations by sending aid to some countries after its spokesperson initially held the American military responsible for the outbreak in Wuhan. It is, however, quite evident to Indian security planners that the Covid 19 spread will impact the Chinese governance and development model in a manner similar to what the 2008 Lehman Brothers crisis did to the West. The failure of the World Health Organisation, or WHO, to call the disease pandemic earlier will also further undermine the authority of the United Nations given its silence on initial denial of disease by Beijing.
{{/usCountry}}It has noted that China has stepped up its public relations by sending aid to some countries after its spokesperson initially held the American military responsible for the outbreak in Wuhan. It is, however, quite evident to Indian security planners that the Covid 19 spread will impact the Chinese governance and development model in a manner similar to what the 2008 Lehman Brothers crisis did to the West. The failure of the World Health Organisation, or WHO, to call the disease pandemic earlier will also further undermine the authority of the United Nations given its silence on initial denial of disease by Beijing.
{{/usCountry}}The situation in neighbouring Pakistan is also headed for the worse with the rapid rise in cases in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK)/ Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan. The rise in cases in Pakistan is also partly due to the return of 5,000 Shia pilgrims all over the country from Iran. With the situation turning grave, the US ordered evacuation of 75 diplomats and 28 other staff members from Islamabad on Sunday.
While India is supplying essentials on demand to both Nepal and Maldives as part of SAARC initiative, it is also shoring up its manufacturing in critical medical equipment like ventilators by tasking Visakhapatnam-based Andhra Medical Tech Zone (AMTZ) just in case the infection spreads faster than it estimates. This is also an opportunity for Make in India in the medical sector to work.
Besides, if India manages to contain the Covid-19 outbreak and restricts the number of mortalities, it will also be able to showcase its governance model with the public strictly adhering to the lockdown . It is a litmus test for the Modi government and failure is not an option.