Estimated cost due to COVID-19 on economy in India 2020

The coronavirus (COVID-19) had been at the center of the loss of lives and livelihood on a massive scale. In India, the economy alongside the population also requires nursing back to health. The estimated cost of a full lockdown was a whopping 26 billion U.S. dollars. Most of the loss was forecast to occur in the June quarter.Setback on the economy The lockdown came at a time when the economy was already struggling. Trade across sectors was estimated to be impacted. This directly affected the procurement of essential items including testing equipment. Besides the import and export business, yet another major revenue generator that received a blow was the tourism industry. India’s predominantly unorganized retail market was yet another casualty with the lockdown increasing the pressure on the online retail segment to rise to the occasion. However, companies offering digital payment services such as Paytm and Google Pay appeared to have somewhat benefited from the situation.Public healthcare in India While the impact on the economy was one thing, lives were at risk, putting healthcare at the forefront. Access to proper healthcare services was a major concern within India irrespective of the pandemic. As of 2018, public health expenditure was valued at nearly 1.6 trillion Indian rupees. Government health facilities were the more affordable option for a majority of the population. Availability of beds in government hospitals was proportionally higher across urban regions as opposed to rural areas. The government had increased and allocated several government and private testing laboratories to combat the virus.

新冠病毒（COVID-19）已成为大规模生命与生计丧失的核心所在。在印度，经济与人口同样亟待恢复生机。全面封锁的预估成本高达26亿美元，其中大部分损失预计将在六月季度发生。经济遭受重创：封锁措施实施之际，经济本身已处于困境之中。各行业间的贸易预计将受到冲击，这直接影响了包括检测设备在内的重要物资的采购。除了进出口业务外，旅游业亦遭受重创，成为另一大收入来源的损失。印度以无序为主的零售市场亦成为受害者，封锁措施加剧了在线零售领域应对压力。然而，提供数字支付服务的公司，如Paytm和Google Pay，似乎在一定程度上从这一状况中获益。印度公共卫生：尽管经济受损是一方面，但生命安全亦受到威胁，将公共卫生推至首要位置。在印度，无论疫情与否，获取适当的医疗服务都是一个重大关切。截至2018年，公共健康支出价值近1.6万亿印度卢比。对于大多数民众而言，政府医疗机构是更经济实惠的选择。相较于农村地区，城市地区政府医院的床位供应比例更高。政府已增设并分配了多所政府及私人检测实验室，以对抗病毒。