How Covid-19 Has Proved Itself as A Boon for India

COVID-19 is being considered as the grim reaper by the entire planet. India is not an exception for this, but with all the misfortune it bestowed upon us, it has also furnished certain lifestyle qualities of humans. India in this case endured a lot of changes. In which, few of them had helped the society to undergo drastic changes. In this article, we are going to look at all the changes that are considered to be ‘favorable’ to the individual, society, and environment.

Corona joining the make India Clean Movement

The inception of the virus in India has subconsciously helped the ‘Make India Clean’ movement. Indians have been frowned upon for their squalid lifestyle, which is despised by many countries and often considered to be unhealthy. Hence India took an initiative called Swatch Bharat also known as Make India Clean. It has been more than 10 years since this initiative commenced by, we haven’t made huge progress until the COVID epidemic happened. This has reduced wastes like never before, saving up millions of tons of waste from getting dumped into landfills and getting accumulated in the streets.

We would also like to talk about Dharavi which is considered to be the biggest slum in Asia and one of the most populated areas. Dharavi is the heart of Mumbai. People reside in very dingy places in Dharavi, it is less spacious but the people who are under the poverty line have no other go. Dharavi was the most unclean place where people lived with no proper and basic facilities. Before the accumulation of coronavirus, it was a land of immense pollution and an unpleasant place to live in. But after the lockdown and increase of Covid-19, it has become a peaceful place contrary to how it was before. Humans didn’t bother about taking any initiative about Dharavi but nature has started healing itself.

Since the virus spread through contact, people are starting to avoid the excessive use of materials. We have also stopped going out for food, this has plummeted the food industry but also provided help in many cases by reducing disposable wastes that can cause harm to society. Reducing this save the planet by reducing the landfill dumping. The oceans are also getting clean due to the shutdown of many industries that let out harmful chemicals that harm the marine ecosystem. What the government couldn’t do with the excessive budget, a pandemic did. 

The journey towards complete digitalization:

When compared to other countries, India has always plodded towards digitalization. Swiftly adapting to changes is often frowned upon by Indian society. But since the invasion of the virus, we have been using online payments to avoid contracting the disease, but we haven’t realized that subliminally moving towards digital India motive.

Money is not the only thing that went online during the events of this pandemic. Education has been completely digitalized too. Due to preconceived notions, Indian education has considered digitizing as one of its biggest enemies. When the rest of the countries used electronics to assist education and learning in schools and colleges, Indian schools and colleges have always considered them as a malicious tool that sways students away from better education. Now forced reconcile and use the same platform for teaching.

Embracing work from home culture:

Work from home is a culture that is welcomed and practiced by many countries and organizations to restore a better social and healthy lifestyle. Countries like India where modern slavery prevails, work home is often considered as the dream of many employees. But due to various limitations and regulations, India was decades away from embracing such a culture.

Since the COVID-19 became an epidemic in India even before the government passed the bills many companies started to adapt work from home. This has not only proven to be healthy for the employees but in many ways found to be helpful to society, reducing traffic, pollution, etc.

Nature saves nature:

This term has been recently trending in social media. The encroachment of the virus is perceived as a vicious act of nature by many, but some consider it helpful, rejuvenating nature. 

Since the onset of the pandemic, many countries have reported a drastic loss of pollution. India particularly started off 2020 with a big environmental caution. The thick smog in New Delhi caused turmoil throughout the capital, causing inconvenience for many day-to-day activities. After five months, the skies look clear than ever before, thanks to the virus keeping us inside our houses. The global pandemic has caused pollution to drop multiple folds that never be achieved otherwise. The waters in canals are pure, roads are empty, hundreds of thousands of plastic wastes have been minimized.

Let’s talk about the economy:

We do reckon that the Indian economy took a big hit, just like the rest of the planet. But we are slowly finding out way through the gloom. Approval of FDI and privatization are the major changes adopted by our government that can help shoot up our economy in the future. This is opposed by many political parties and citizens but still appreciated by a few.

Our take on this is that opening up to FDI can not only enrich our society with foreign investment but also a step towards globalization. On the other hand, privatization can help increase the quality of the products and services provided by the government. Government services and transport often considered as less quality and giving it up to private entities can improve the caliber and raise the standards.

Basic Lifestyle Changes

We have talked about the major economic changes, but we should not forget about the fundamental lifestyle changes that took place during this pandemic.

‘Quarantine-lifestyle’ is the fancy term given by netizens. After the government issued the nationwide lockdown, we stopped stepping outside our houses and started rethinking our everyday activities. Some found it tedious, but some see it as an opportunity to pursue their hobbies and personal well-being.

In India, 90 percent of food products are purchased in fresh markets, since the government has banned the opening of these markets. We have got creative and used online shopping to purchase vegetables and food, without making any contact with the delivery agent. This is fancily worded ‘No contact delivery’, this is being followed by many e-commerce sites to make deliveries possible.

In conclusion, there is a lot of mixed feelings when it comes to the ubiquitous Covid-19. We, by no circumstance, support the onset of the pandemic which has claimed many innocent lives. In this helpless situation, all we can do is embrace and live through the unprecedented changes it has brought to our lives, and who likes to show wrath upon things we do not have control over. Let us stay inside and be safe.