#StartupsVsCovid19: India Mulls Economic Revival Plans On Lockdown Day 35

Four days ahead of the end of phase 2 of lockdown in the country, the government is working on the plans of reviving economy while also deciphering the requirements of different sectors.

The government plans to aggressively push for Make In India programme by offering domestic and foreign manufacturers policy and fiscal incentives to manufacture locally. The sectors under focus include electronics, organic chemicals, medical equipment, electrical machinery and plastic products. It is to be noted that the government has been very vocal about electronics growth and has brought out several incentives to players like Apple, Vivo, Samsung etc to manufacture in India over the last 2-3 years.

In a bid to revive the economy reeling under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government is looking to offer loans worth $39 Bn to small and medium businesses (SMBs). Under the new proposal, the government is looking to offer an additional 20% of credit limit to small firms. The extra debt will be fully backed by the central government, which will also set up a special fund to pay for any default.

Further, while small businesses have been allowed to open by the government, Amazon has asked the Indian government to allow ecommerce companies to deliver all products and not just essentials.

Amazon India head Amit Agarwal took to Twitter urging the government to allow them to deliver non-essentials as well as the essential products that they are currently selling. Agarwal said that ecommerce offers the safest way to ensure social distancing, saving lives and livelihoods.

Further, the mobility platform Bounce has launched ScooterHero, an initiative enabling individuals to sign up their idle personal bikes and scooters for use by frontline workers. Bounce aims to ease transportation for essential service providers with this initiative. Individuals that enlist their vehicle have the option of giving their vehicle to be used free of charge or can charge up to INR 80 per day.

B2B SaaS company Locus has launched a free tool ‘QuickStart,’ a self-serve lite version of the product suite startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). With this, companies can automate decision making while taking into account the on-ground reality. This free trial is for a period of two months from the start of the subscription. Companies can now focus on execution and ensure a good customer experience.

IIT-Delhi associated waterless technology startup Clensta International has launched 3 ply face masks to cater to the surge in demand. These face masks will be available on all leading ecommerce websites. The highlight of this mask is triple layer protection with a nose piece, having a filter efficiency of 99% for 3-micron particle size.

In Andhra Pradesh, the medical and health department has launched ‘Covid Pharma’, a mobile application to keep a track of people purchasing medicines for cough, cold and fever from medical stores across the state. Using the app, the respective pharmacies will have to take down details of persons (including their mobile number) making OTC (over the counter) purchase of such medicines and report to the government.

SHAREit has partnered with The Akshaya Patra Foundation to donate INR 1 Cr towards feeding 500K people in need. Coca-Cola in India has committed initial support of INR 100 Cr towards helping the healthcare system and communities to combat the crisis and contain the spread of the pandemic. Coca-Cola India said it will ensure immediate support to enhance the country’s healthcare infrastructure, including testing facilities and personal protective equipments (PPEs) for health workers.

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