The Internet and Mobile Association of India [IAMAI] welcomes the new norms for lockdown 4.0 and the move towards normalization of the economy. The association had earlier appealed that lockdown 4.0 should be administered by states at their jurisdictional level and that greater ease of economic activities should be allowed following more focused restriction of zones.
The MHA has built upon the suggestions by the Honourable Prime Minister and has now accepted both asks by the association. The new guidelines now suggest states can demarcate critical zones of contamination for restriction and the new permit to allow all other activities in the other zones is a welcome initiative that will help revive the economy. The association further stated that the new guidelines allows progressive states to devise their own containment mechanisms and better focus their limited resources to enforce a safer containment. This new dynamism offered to states not only strengthens federal functioning but also allows for a more focused and need-based lockdown all over the country.
The association stated that going forward, the digital services can offer numerous benefits that the Government and local authorities can harness for social benefits under the new normal conditions if only the sector is allowed unfettered operations in the country. Digital services till date have helped ease the burden of lockdown with services facilitating work from home, e-commerce, edutech, digital payments, digital entertainment, etc playing a well-acknowledged critical role during this period. Even as lockdown 4.0 is extended, the country is looking at a new normal where social interactions are bound to be severely distorted, either under injunction or public awareness or concerns. Digital platforms are the only plausible medium for both businesses and customers in the coming days and needs to be strengthened. IAMAI stated that the bold and emerging Indian tech start-up sector is more than capable to develop a self-reliant digital services sector that can cater to the needs of the country in the new normal.
IAMAI also welcomes the initiative for a technology-driven online education system announced by the Hon’ble Finance Minister in her latest speech of Atmanirbhar Bharat. This is one of the many benefits of digitalized services presently acknowledged by the series of vision documents, that include the promotion of e-market linkage for MSMEs to be promoted to act as a replacement for trade fairs and exhibitions. The association and its members offer full cooperation to the government in fulfilling these visions.