Insurance
The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India has asked insurers to cover Covid-19 cases in their existing policies as well as ensure that they expeditiously attend to the coronavirus claims. One of the factors that work in its favor is that it’s an under-penetrated sector and hence, the impact will be low.
So what yardstick should the government use when assessing these competing cries for help?
The airline industry particularly had seen a “frightening and spectacular” collapse in demand, but added that people would argue that companies “should have been prepared for at least some kind of downturn”.
The government has announced several relief measures for them, but it is hard to ensure whether the benefits are reaching all.
In such a scenario, the government could announce a job security scheme that covers certain employees, similar to what some countries including the UK have done. While there are these above-stated sectors that need urgent help, the outlook of other sectors in India are also deteriorating.
A larger job security scheme for those who have been laid off could be the only way to protect affected citizens.
