Covid-19 continues to be the dominant issue in India. But despite the 4,2 million registered cases and around 90.000 new infections per day, the focus is gradually shifting from the health to the economic effects. Because how Mathias Peer, foreign correspondent for the Handelsblatt, in his recent analysis wrote, more people in India are now dying as a result of the economic collapse than from a Covid 19 infection.

Due to the Corona lockdown, India's economy is suffering a historic economic downturn. Prime Minister Modi is now easing the restrictions - despite the raging pandemic. Or he is forced to. In the second quarter, gross domestic product fell by 24 percent compared to the previous year - that's more than in all other G-20 countries. A GDP decline of almost seven percent is expected for the Indian financial year (April 1.4.2020, 31.3.2021 to March XNUMX, XNUMX). Millions of people have already lost their jobs and are now being thrown back into poverty. Consumer confidence is at an all-time low. Due to the lack of state social systems, money and private assets are hoarded and not spent. But many smaller companies are also facing economic ruin.

Status quo – regulations – effects on society and companies

At the WB India Summit we will discuss with real experts and Indian representatives from German branches how they are responding to the current health and economic challenges and what the priorities are now. While just a few weeks ago there was still fear of closing one's own business premises (if a Covid-19 case broke out), today numerous Indian branches are already confronted with deaths among their own employees. In view of the current infection situation in India, most managers are increasingly feeling helpless when it comes to health aspects and are therefore concentrating again on their economic tasks.

The panelists

  • Dr. Shubnum Singh, Advisor CII National Healthcare Council, reports from Delhi on the current medical situation in India.
  • Prasad Chandran, the former chairman and managing director of BASF(I) Ltd. and Chairman of SEEGOS, will speak about the overall economic situation and outlook for the economy.
  • Volker Klosowski, expert for certification as well as pandemic and hygiene concepts at Dr. Wamser + Batra GmbH shares its experiences of how companies and their Indian subsidiaries are reacting to the current situation and how priorities have shifted in the last few weeks from systematically ramping up industrial operations while strictly adhering to all hygiene regulations to “Indian” activism.
  • As a local practitioner in Pune, the Managing Director at Schmersal India Pvt. Ltd, Sagar Bhosale, report how he deals with the current situation in his company and how he keeps an eye on the health of his employees as well as economic events.

In the interactive panel discussion we want to find out how managers - even from a distance - maintain an overview and make the right decisions for their branches. The session starts at 10:45 and lasts around 60 minutes. The panel is moderated “Status Quo – Regulations – Effects on Society and Companies” from Peter Gerhardt, South Asia correspondent for ARD in Delhi.