Act judiciously

There is mounting dismay in India, with the very sluggish pace of vaccinations. India is offering vaccines to dozens of countries including Canada now, when only 0.5 per cent of Indians, have been vaccinated. Canada has booked vaccines with many suppliers to cover its population five times over. India has not covered it population even once. Israel has vaccinated 66 per cent of its population, the UAE 48 per cent and UK 21 per cent. Granted India is vast country, however it also has more hospitals and health workers.

In the last few years we have messed up some key policy decisions. The first was demonetisation in 2016. No black or unaccounted money was unearthed, but millions of Indians suffered. About 99.30 per cent of the outlawed currency notes were returned to the Reserve Bank.

However, small business shut. Many people were rendered unemployed. People died in queues waiting outside banks, to draw their own moneys. GST introduction in 2017 was hasty. It inconvenienced businessmen. Numerous notifications had to be issued to clarify all the provisions.

The sudden declaration of the lockdown on 24 March 2020, with a few hours’ notice, caused major inconveniences to millions of migratory workers from villages, who worked in the cities.

They had to walk back hundreds of kilometres to their villages. Many died on these grim journeys. The rushed clearing of the three Farm Bills in Parliament, have upset the farmers, who are agitating for over two months, braving tear gas and water cannons.

I sincerely hope that the mission to vaccinate 1.4 billion people will be managed efficiently and intelligently. Hitherto, the process is uninspiring. The Government should work with the private companies and hospitals sector to ensure the rapid vaccination of Indians. Human lives are at stake. We cannot afford another clutter.

Rajendra Aneja — Mumbai, India