India has opportunity to build a more resilient and diverse economy after COVID-19 pandemic: USIBC

After the COVID-19 pandemic, India will have the opportunity to build an economy that is more resilient, diversified and attractive to the global manufacturers and services as the majority of the businesses world wide have faced disruptions and economic fallout, according to the head of a India-centric American business representative group here.

Nisha Desai Biswal, the president of US India Business Council (USIBC) said India is expected to benefit as it is expected that businesses will want to de-risk in having too much of a supply chain concentrated in one area and try to diversify and disperse.

Now after the pandemic, I think it just further underscores that there's an opportunity here for India. In the midst of all of the disruption and economic fallout, there's an opportunity to build an economy that is more resilient, that is more diversified and that is more attractive to more global manufacturing and global Services, Biswal, who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia during the previous Barack Obama Administration, told PTI in an interview on Monday.

Globally, the coronavirus pandemic has killed 119,666 people and infected almost two million people, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

The United States recorded 1,509 deaths related to the coronavirus pandemic over the past 24 hours, the data showed.

Several nations have opted for complete shutdown to contain the spread of the deadly virus, a measure which is expected to impact the economy of the countries.

Biswal said that USIBC is committed to working with India on positioning of a post pandemic opportunity to ensure that India continues to be a global services hub in sectors like pharmaceutical, among others.

"USIBC is committed to working with India on positioning for kind of a post pandemic opportunity to ensure it continues to be the pharmacy to the world and continues to build its economy to provide more opportunity and investment for India, but also allow India to become more and more integrated into a global supply chain," she said.

But India will also have to make sure that it takes the steps that it needs to create more efficient opportunities for