Covid-19: The Virus Has Changed Us In Ways Even Our PM Modi Couldn’t.

“Things happen and people change.” This is a very common saying given out by a renowned person. But who knew that this can be applicable for countries too?  Here is a brief analysis of how India has changed in ways it has never before. Since this lockdown, there have been numerous changes in the country which even the PM Modi couldn’t do in the past few years. Here are a few of them:

1. DIGITAL INDIA: digital India is a campaign which was launched in 2015 by the PM Modi. It was launched in order to ensure the Government’s services are made available to citizens electronically by improved online infrastructure and by increasing Internet connectivity or making the country digitally empowered in the field of technology. Since the start of this campaign, people have started using the internet a lot, the internet users have increased but never for the right cause. People never preferred online banking, online shopping or doing anything online, except shopping.

Since the lockdown, people are forced to stay indoors and suddenly, the country has taken up the digital path. People have started using online applications for buying everything from milk, to bread to laptops.

What the PM couldn’t do, a virus did!

1. Swachh Bharat Mission: this was a cleanliness drive which was started by our PM in 2014 and continued till 2019. Funds were collected in the name of “cess” to make india clean and green.

The funny part was the outcome of this. India had 21 of the 30 world’s worst pathetic air quality region. The air pollution was at ‘unbearable levels’. Delhi air quality deteriorated into the “hazardous” category, with the potential to cause respiratory illnesses. Levels of dangerous particles in the air – known as PM2.5 – were far higher than recommended and about seven times higher than in the Chinese capital Beijing. An Indian health ministry official said the city’s pollution monitors did not have enough digits to accurately record pollution levels, which he called a “disaster”.

Now, since the lockdown, Mumbai, was the only Indian city in the top 20 most polluted places, according to data from IQAir. The clean air could aid the country’s battle against the pneumonia-like virus as air pollution makes people more vulnerable to lung disease. Since the onset of the pandemic, the best thing happening is that people can finally breathe some fresh air!

We can see clear skies after so long!

1. Unity in Diversity: India has always been the battleground for all the citizens. People fight, rob and kill each other. But since the lockdown, people have been showing signs of unity. People gathered in large numbers to protest against the lockdown as they wanted to go back to their home town. This sign of unity was far fetched but since the onset of this pandemic, it’s coming out beautifully. Hundreds of migrant labourers living inside Shastri Nagar slum, one of the red zones, in Bandra West area in Mumbai flooded the streets, hoping to get back home as they expected the lockdown to end on 15^th The migrants started congregating outside Bandra bus depot from 4 pm in a large number. They originally hail from states like West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

You see, pain is what binds us together.

The people haven’t come together for the right cause and at the right time, but this time, the people wont step back and will voice out their opinion.

1. Online Education: Indians have been used to mugging up things and always copying the exact same sentences in the exams. That’s just how our education system works. PM Modi had always talked about other ways of education and skill-oriented courses. This was never implemented by the parents because it is a very unconventional thing. But, since the onset of this virus, people have switched to e-education and are using mobile apps for teaching their kids. It is scientifically proven that if a child is taught with sound effects and audio-visual content, the child will remember it for a much longer time. Online teaching material is being provided by the institutions and it will lead to mass spread of education.

Teaching made easier by Covid-19!

1. Work from home: work from home is finally here in INDIA!!! People have understood the role and importance of technology. Gone are the days when people had to go to office and listen to their bosses. Now, an email does the job. All offices in India have been working virtually, people are treating their laptops as their bread and butter. There is no replacement available for this situation. It is something which cannot be changed.

“By asking some employees to not come to office, our goal is to reduce density and risk for everyone else,” said Andrew Macdonald, senior vice president for rides and platform, Uber. A spokesperson for Ola said, “Employees have been advised to work from home in case they seem to have any flu-like symptoms as a precautionary measure. As part of our preparedness module, a task force has been created that is actively working with employees. All non-essential inter-city and international travel have been put on hold.”

1. Donations: people all around the nation were told to be kind and donate money under various names and funds but often people didn’t indulge in it. Looking at the current situation, people have become more caring and are openly donating for a good cause. The PM Cares fund has been started during times like these of distress. People have largely contributed towards the fund which will be used for the benefit of the people. Rs.6500 crore was deposited in the PM Cares fund in a week. This was contributed by the top-notch stakeholders of our country, the well-known millionaires and billionaires of India. Ambani donated 500 crores, probably the highest any one has ever donated in India.

People became more giving and understood the need of voluntary donations!

1. People became more dependent on the MSMEs: since the start of Modi rule, the government is trying to uplift the MSMEs and the FMCG sector but people often relied on big shops and never on the small industries. Since the concept of social distancing has been imposed, people have understood the need of small shops and retailers. It has been found out that the sales of the retailers and the kiryana stores have doubled as people are hoarding groceries which is leading to increase in the revenues for all these small industries.

Overall, the virus has led to more development than any other leader has done. At times it is negative growth and at times it is positive.

All the dreams of PM Modi are coming true, but not under the right circumstances.