EXCLUSIVE WATCH – Plan B: Prepping India for future crisis

Shali Ittaman

We have been in a fire-fight mode ever since Covid hit India in 2020. Barring the short recesses, we have moved from one crisis to the other, taking on each one as it came.

The trouble of being in a fire-fight is that it compels us to keep to the present, remain on a hair-trigger and stay short-sighted. It may give us brief victories — if at all — but it will restrict our ability to see the problem in its entirety and to find a lasting solution to it.

That really is India’s case currently as far as the battle with Covid is concerned, and we need to (re)solve it as soon as possible. Hence, the need for a Plan B!

The video series

Plan B is a video series that sets the stage for people with ideas and experiences and expertise to come together and build a viable plan for India, should the next wave of Covid lash or another disaster of similar magnitude make landfall.

Several experts including law makers, administrators, doctors, researchers, scientists, technologists and social workers have agreed to be part of the project.

Central to the cast, however, are the people whose lives have been laid waste by the pandemic. Their voices are going to be heard from here, not only for the hint they offer on the human situation, but also for the reminder they serve on the tasks that lie ahead.

(Dear readers, if your wish to post short videos describing your struggles and experiences during the pandemic, here is the IOR whatsapp number to do it: 9891994601. The videos would be hosted on the India Overseas Report YouTube channel as part of the video series.)

Plan B Story 1: The Indian Medical Crisis

Dr. Dileep Raman, co-founder of Cloudphysician, has a unique digital model for India as it attempts to use its limp infrastructure to rush healthcare to millions of people threatened by the pandemic. Dr. Raman speaks to Shali Ittaman in this exclusive interview