COVID-19 has brought the hustle-bustle of the entire world to a standstill. No one was prepared for this problem which emerged out of the blue. Never before has mankind been brought under such restrictions after having been used to such extreme liberty that it almost felt like an entitlement. More than half of the population across the globe is now compelled to oblige to the lockdown to prevent the spread of this contagious virus.
The virus, as of now, can only be defeated by our discipline and keeping our focus on the positives more than the negativity around us.
Amid the negativity, there are many positive aspects of the lockdown which we otherwise would not have thought to be a reality. “Necessity is the mother of invention,” they say, and rightly so. Enlisted below are the positive accomplishments that truly made this tough phase in our lives worth looking back at.
● Crucial Time with Family
The precious time with family that we all craved for is now a reality so strongly compelled by Mother Nature that we ought to spend time with each other now, which otherwise would have not been possible because of everyone’s hectic schedule & busy lifestyle.
● Health Infrastructure
India is the largest producer of generic drugs globally. India’s strong Pharmaceutical Industry has been meticulously working towards our health infrastructure. Our healthcare capacity has skyrocketed as medical manufacturers ramped up the production of essential medical equipment such as ventilators, PPEs, medicines, masks, sanitisers, etc giving India a boost to fight against this Pandemic, thereby reducing our dependence on foreign countries for these items.
● Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Now, this is something unbelievable! Before the emergence of this virus, India produced a negligible number of PPEs. It was next to nothing. But today, it has become the 2nd largest PPE manufacturer in the world by producing over 4.5 lakhs PPE suits every day. Apart from manufacturing, India is now also exporting PPE medical coveralls to different countries as the demand rises with a monthly export cap of 50 lakh. The journey from Zero to becoming a leading global manufacturer and exporter has been an incredible and noteworthy realisation of India’s potential in the manufacturing sector.
● Awareness
Ever since this virus has come into our lives, we have become more alert & vigilant about our safety from harmful microorganisms. Earlier, we used to take it all for granted because we have vaccines for almost every deadly disease-causing microorganism. But now, we are practising and constantly updating our hygiene norms to ensure complete safety.
● Aatmanirbhar Bharat
We have always promoted self-reliance amongst ourselves; we talked about how self-reliance is the key to empowerment, but rarely did we ever consider self-reliance for our own country. Too bad that it took a Pandemic to make us realise how important it is for India to be Aatmanirbhar. People, now, have started talking about ways to support the local manufacturers by keeping them first on our preference list. “Vocal for Local” is the powerful slogan that has given life to this national movement. India’s young population of dynamic minds can make a huge difference by implementing their innovative startup ideas to accomplish the dream of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
● Railways Infrastructure
The Indian Railways surely emerged as the star of the Pandemic.
For the first time in the history of Indian Railways, its services were halted, albeit for a brief period. The Pandemic challenged the very lifeline of this nation but the robust Indian railways took the challenge head-on making several accomplishments for us to be proud of. The Indian railways created a world record by becoming the first to run a Double Stack Container train with high reach pantograph in high rise over Head Equipment territory. The achievement was first of its kind in the entire world.
Apart from this, India became the sixth country in the world to join the elite club of producing high horsepower locomotives by running its first 12,000 HP electric ‘Made in India’ locomotive. The indigenous locomotive was manufactured by Madhepura Electric Loco Factory in Bihar. Operation of Special Shramik trains for over 54 lakh migrant workers across the length and breadth of the country was yet another remarkable contribution. Taking another leap towards the safety of the passengers and enhancing the speed of the trains, the railways also completed two hundred important maintenance projects during the Covid-19 lockdown. Not being left behind in its contribution to the innovation pool of the nation, the Railway Protection Force, Pune launched a robot ‘CAPTAIN ARJUN’ to intensify the screening and surveillance of passengers while boarding trains.
Apart from spreading smiles by taking people home in lockdown, the Railway workshops also took up the challenge and manufactured around two lakh Personal Protective Equipment, PPE gowns and over seven lakh masks during the lockdown period while more than five thousand Railway coaches were converted to isolation coaches to serve as COVID Care Centers to augment the capacity of health infrastructure in our country.
● Unity Among People
Unity at the time of distress is truly beautiful. People from all walks of life came together keeping aside all the differences as we witnessed the whole nation standing together and appreciating the Corona Warriors fighting against this virus for us on the frontlines.
This pandemic taught us many things and these are some of the positives that we came across while still fighting the virus. The world is going through a tough phase as COVID-19 creates havoc in the world compelling us to adapt to a whole new social and behavioural change. But as they say, “Every sky has a silver lining” and if we look closely, the pandemic has nudged us to expand our limits, transcend our capabilities and realise our true potential to fight an uncalled problem, thereby contributing towards India’s growth journey.
(This article was authored by Sonu Nigam Singh. Singh is a Lawyer, Content Creator, and a Digital Marketing Expert. He is currently working in New Delhi as a Social Media Consultant. He has actively managed both social media and ground level campaigns in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. He is also an avid reader and is dedicated to his passion for writing.)