World Bank hails India's whole-of-government approach to stimulate production during Corona pandemic

The World Bank has hailed India's whole-of-government approach to stimulate production during Corona pandemic. It said India adopted a whole-of-government approach to stimulate local production that helped reduce unit prices and the dependency on global supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic even as no compromises were made on quality in the largest procurement exercise conducted by the government.

World Bank report takes a close look at the initiatives taken by the Centre to ensure a sustained supply of essential medical commodities during the critical initial phase of the pandemic, including efforts to develop the local market following a whole-of-government approach.

The report lists certain global experiences and summarises the procurement innovations undertaken by the Centre, including its efforts to



develop the domestic market for essential Covid commodities and lifesaving equipment.

A unique feature in India was the private sector's active role in testing, contributing to nearly 50 percent of the laboratories as well as the venture capital, raising additional resources to support domestic manufacturing of Covid commodities, and develop IT-supported innovations for teleconsultation and intensive care unit (ICU) management, the report highlighted.

The country also imposed export restrictions early and encouraged, facilitated, and funded the private sector to support domestic manufacturing and the creation of laboratory facilities. This enabled accelerated imports to begin with and the development of local markets, later on, the World Bank said.