Impact of COVID-19 on the Indian Economy and Strategies for Managing Risk and Disruption

Abstract

The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic comes as an unprecedented shock to countries and organizations worldwide affecting almost all the sectors of economy. The Indian government tried to curb the spread of the virus by imposing lockdowns which caused travel restrictions, shutting down of educational institutions, offices, manufacturing plants and all public events. This proved to be disastrous to the economy by causing supply chain disruption, large scale layoffs, reverse migration of migrant workers and battered financial markets resulting in one of steepest quarterly GDP contraction in history. To revive the falling economy, the government eased lockdown restrictions which caused an exponential increase in the cases of COVID-19 in India. It is clear that the coronavirus has disrupted almost every sector of the economy, but at the same time it has induced opportunities which calls for pragmatic and informed approach by the business leaders. It is also going to fundamentally change how we live and work resulting in a new normal. This paper focuses on assessing the impact of coronavirus on the Indian economy and provides strategies for managing risk and disruption which can be leveraged by political and business leaders in order to adapt and sustain.