Take an example of any activity from any of the three sectors (primary, secondary or tertiary) of economy in India. Critically analyse the impact of pandemic on this particular activity.
Answers
Explanation:
Primary Sector- Agriculture:
The resilience of the agricultural sector has been tested by the COVID-19 outbreak. A global crash in demand from hotels and restaurants has seen prices of agricultural commodities drop by 20% . Countries around the world have imposed a number of protective measures to contain the exponentially increasing spread. This includes social distancing, avoiding unnecessary travel, and a ban on congregations. Advice on self-isolation upon contact with suspected carriers of the virus is likely to impact the number of available inspectors and delivery staff critical to ensuring verification and transportation of products. This will have pronounced implications for perishable goods such as meat and vegetables. Furthermore, markets have gone a step further by shutting down floor trading which has impacted the ability to exchange commodities. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange is a recent example. ‘Panic buying’ is further complicating shortages beyond supermarket shelves. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) have expressed concern over low levels of animal pharmaceuticals from several large drug suppliers.
Secondary sector - Manufacturing
A survey conducted by the British Plastics Federation (BPF) explored how COVID-19 is impacting manufacturing businesses in the United Kingdom (UK). Over 80% of respondents anticipated a decline in turnover over the next 2 quarters, with 98% admitting concern about the negative impact of the pandemic on business operations. Importation issues and staffing deficiencies stood out as the key concerns for businesses due to disruption to supply chains and self-isolation policies. Indeed, for many roles within a manufacturing company, ‘working from home’ is not a viable option. As the UK is adopting similar protective measures to the rest of the world, and due to the global overlap of supply chains, we can expect these anxieties to transcend borders. The Chemical Industry is predicted to reduce its global production by 1.2%, the worst growth for the sector since the 2008 financial crash [17]. Major chemical manufacturing companies such as BASF who were in the process of upscaling production in China have had to delay their activities, contributing to a slowdown in predicted growth.
Tertiary Sector - Education:
COVID-19 has affected all levels of the education system, from pre-school to tertiary education. Different countries have introduced various policies, ranging from complete closure in Germany and Italy to targeted closure in the United Kingdom for all but the children of workers in key industries . Additionally, over 100 countries have imposed a nationwide closure of educational facilities. UNESCO estimates that close to 900 million learners have been affected by the closure of educational institutions .
Whilst the intention of these closures is to prevent spread of the virus within institutions and prevent carriage to vulnerable individuals, these closures have had widespread socioeconomic implications.
COVID-19 has had an impact on social mobility whereby schools are no longer able to provide free school meals for children from low-income families, social isolation and school dropout rates. It has also had a significant impact on childcare costs for families with young children. Additionally, there exists a wide disparity amongst populations with a higher income who are able to access technology that can ensure education continues digitally during social isolation. In Dubai, 13,900 people have signed a petition to decrease independent school fees by 30% as parents struggle to source these funds amidst recent pay cuts reaching as high as 50%, and high costs of living. Furthermore, parents are being asked to provide schools with confidential information such as bank statements and profit and loss company statements.
COVID-19 has also influenced the tertiary sector. As well as the impact on undergraduate education , the most significant impact is on the postgraduate research community with research into many non-COVID related topics being placed on hold. In the United Kingdom, the national funding body for health research has halted all non-COVID research in order to allow clinically trained staff who are normally on academic secondments to return to the frontline. In the United States, similar action has been taken by the National Institute for Health to shut down all non-critical research in order to free up staff and resources for ‘mission-critical’ research. Outside of the healthcare research setting, several institutions have put research in fields such as the humanities and social sciences on hold with Harvard University closing all laboratories in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences .
Mark it brainliest if u found my answer useful