COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise in India as they begin to decline in other parts of the world, with no end in near sight. Both of these numbers have hit an all time high in the past few days. As hospitals are overflowing, oxygen supplies are lacking and many COVID-19 related deaths have resulted due to this lack of oxygen. In addition to lacking medical supplies, India is lacking healthcare workers and medical staff. This has resulted in international support from countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, sending oxygen equipment and ventilators. While many are calling for an emergency lockdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is extremely hesitant due to fear of harming the nation’s economy. Instead, he’s been pushing for restrictions such as curfews. After imposing a lockdown in the early stages of the pandemic in 2020, the economy suffered greatly, it’s output falling by 24%.
The situation in India mirrors something going on throughout the world. Governments are struggling with whether to impose lockdown restrictions due to the economic plummet that results, or watch as their people continue to die from the pandemic. India specifically is a large contributor to the world economy as it’s a big source of trade and production which stimulates the economy. Because of this the Indian government is incentivized to keep the country open and instead impose lesser restrictions in order to keep their consistent influx of money and stabilize the economy. However, this is a large humanitarian issue as less than 4% of India’s population is vaccinated, and the end of the pandemic is nowhere in sight for this country. As more and more people die each day and the numbers continue to increase, it creates a darkening image for the Indian government regarding their care towards their people.
This correlates to India’s role as a rising/intermediate power. India has the potential to become a global power, and their economy is key to this as the country holds such a prominent economic role in the global economy due to manufacturing and trade. Because India is in such an important stage of their rise to power, closing down the economy could threaten this. This also relates to interdependence, as India’s economic prominence means there is a mutual dependence between itself and the international community.