India’s wealthiest banker, Uday Kotak, has called upon the authorities to consider curtailing economic activity in a bid to cut the transmission chain of coronavirus at a time when India has emerged as the coronavirus hotspot and surging cases have overwhelmed the healthcare system.
“At this critical juncture when toll of lives is rising, CII urges the strongest national steps including curtailing economic activity to reduce suffering,” Uday Kotak, president of the Confederation of Indian Industry and chief executive of Kotak Mahindra Bank said in a tweet.
CII calls for maximal measures at the national level including curtailing economic activity to reduce suffering. ~ @udaykotak, President, CII. #CII4Health#Unite2FightCorona
Complete press release here: https://t.co/kSwURZ3xgR@PMOIndia@nsitharaman@PiyushGoyal@MoHFW_INDIApic.twitter.com/vUY2odeRdp— Confederation of Indian Industry (@FollowCII) May 2, 2021
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had imposed a strict lockdown last year, but has been reluctant this year due to concerns about the economic impact. However, at least 11 states and union territories have imposed some form of restrictions due to the spiralling cases.
Meanwhile, India reported more than 300,000 new coronavirus cases for a twelfth straight day on Monday. With 368,147 new cases over the past 24 hours, India’s total coronavirus infections now stand at 19.93 million and total fatalities are now at 2,18,959, health ministry data shows.
