THE ROLE OF NCC CADETS DURING COVID-

19 PANDEMIC IN INDIA

COVID-19 pandemic in India

The COVID-19 pandemic in India is part of the worldwide

pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe
acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first case
of COVID-19 in India, which originated from China, was reported on 30
January 2020. India currently has the largest number of confirmed cases
in Asia, and has the third highest number of confirmed cases in the
world after the United States and Brazil with the number of total
confirmed cases breaching the 100,000 mark on 19 May, 200,000 on 3
June, and 1,000,000 confirmed cases on 17 July 2020.
India's case fatality rate is among the lowest in the world at 2.41% as of
23 July and is steadily declining. Six cities account for around half of all
reported cases in the country
– Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Pune and Kolkata. As of 24
May 2020, Lakshadweep is the only region which has not reported a
case. India's recovery rate stands at 63.18% as on 23 July 2020. On 10
June, India's recoveries exceeded active cases for the first time.
On 22 March, India observed a 14-hour voluntary public curfew at the
instance of the prime minister Narendra Modi. It was followed by
mandatory lockdowns in COVID-19 hotspots and all major cities.
Further, on 24 March, the Prime Minister ordered a nationwide
lockdown for 21 days, affecting the entire 1.3 billion-person population
of India. On 14 April, the Modi extended the nationwide lockdown till 3
May which was followed by two-week extensions starting 3 and 17 May
with substantial relaxations. From 1 June, the government started
"unlocking" the country (barring "containment zones") in
three unlock phases.
The United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO)
have praised India's response to the pandemic as 'comprehensive and
robust,' terming the lockdown restrictions as 'aggressive but vital' for
containing the spread and building necessary healthcare infrastructure.
The Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT)
noted the government's swift and stringent actions, emergency policy-
making, emergency investment in health care, fiscal stimulus,
investment in vaccine and drug R&D. It gave India a score of 100 for the
strict response. Michael Ryan, chief executive director of the WHO's
health emergencies programnoted that India had tremendous capacity to
deal with the outbreak owing to its vast experience in
eradicating smallpox and polio. In June, India was ranked 56th of 200
countries in COVID 19 safety assessment report by Deep Knowledge
Group. Other commentators have raised concerns about the economic
fallout arising as a result of the pandemic and preventive
restrictions. The lockdown was justified by the government and other
agencies for being preemptive to prevent India from entering a higher
stage which could make handling very difficult and cause even more
losses thereafter.

Background
On 12 January 2020, the WHO confirmed that a novel coronavirus was
the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City,
Hubei, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.

Government responses
The outbreak has been declared an epidemic in more than a dozen states
and union territories, where provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act,
1897 have been invoked, leading to the temporary closure of educational
and commercial establishments. All tourist visas have been suspended,
as a majority of the confirmed cases were mainly importing.
Testing and countermeasures
The Union Health Ministry's war room and policy making team in New
Delhi consists of the ministry's Emergency Medical Response Unit,
the Central Surveillance Unit (IDSP), the National Centre for Disease
Control (NCDC) and experts from three government hospitals. They are
part of policy decisions to decide how coronavirus should be tackled in
the country. A cluster-containment strategy is mainly being adopted,
similar to how India contained previous epidemics, as well as "breaking
the chain of transmission". 15 labs across India led by the National
Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, are testing for the virus, with more
labs being trained, as of early March. On 14 March were named capable
for testing for the virus (though as of 17 March not all are fully
functional).

Impact

Commercial establishments
On 19 March, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced the
closure of all restaurants in the capital by 31 March in view of the ever-
increasing case of coronavirus. He said that there will be a ban on eating
in restaurants but food delivery will continue. He also said that 20 or
more people will not be allowed to unite anywhere in the state. On 20
March, in Lucknow all restaurants, hotels, sweet shops have been closed
till 31 March.
Education
On 16 March, the union government declared a countrywide lock-down
of schools and colleges. On 18 March, CBSE released revised guidelines
for examination centers. This includes maintaining a distance of at least
1 meter between the students taking the exam with a class not having
more than 24 students. If the rooms of the examination centers are small,
divide the students and make them sit in different rooms. On 19
March, CBSE and JEE main examinations were postponed till 31
March.

Economy
On 2 March, the BSE SENSEX witnessed a flash crash on the back of
Union Health Ministry's announcement of two new confirmed cases. A
UN report estimated a trade impact of US$348 million on India due to
the outbreak, making India one of the 15 worst affected economies
across the world. Asian Development Bank estimated that the outbreak
could cause losses of up to US$29.9 billion to India's economy. On 9
March, The BSE SENSEX closed 1,942 points lower at 35,635 while
the NSE NIFTY 50 was down by 538 points to 10,451.
On 12 March, Indian stock markets suffered their worst crash since June
2017 after WHO's declaration of the outbreak as a pandemic. The BSE
SENSEX dropped 8.18 per cent or 2,919 points which was its lowest in
23 months while the NIFTY dropped 9 per cent or 950 points.

Unemployment
The coronavirus lockdown in India has left tens of millions of migrant
workers unemployed.

Food security
The lockdown disrupted food supplies and threatened to trigger a food
crisis. By the first week of April, essential industries such as growing,
harvesting and food deliveries were allowed to operate.
Role of NCC cadets
The National Cadet Corps is the youth wing of Armed Forces with its
Headquarters at New Delhi, Delhi, India. It is open to school and college
students on voluntary basis. National Cadet Corps is a Tri-Services
Organization, comprising the Army, Navy and Air Wing, engaged in
grooming the youth of the country into disciplined and patriotic citizens.
The National Cadet Corps in India is a voluntary organization which
recruits cadets from high schools, higher
secondary, colleges and universities all over India. The Cadets are given
basic military training in small arms and parades. The officers and
cadets have no liability for active military service once they complete
their course.
Exercise NCC Yogdan

On April 2, 2020, the National Cadet Corps (NCC) launched “Exercise

NCC Yogdan” to offer a helping hand to the authorities fighting against
COVID-19.

Highlights

Under the exercise, the NCC cadets were envisaged to work in call
centers and helpline centers formed exclusively for COVID-19,
community assistance, distribution of relief materials, medicines and
other essential food commodities, data management and traffic
management.

The Plan
Under the exercise, the senior NCC volunteers above 18 years of age
were employed. The plan was to use the NCC force to assist state
governments. However, NCC operates under Ministry of Defense.
Therefore, the state governments had to lace request to the state NCC
directorates upon using NCC volunteer to assist in their relief measures.
All the three wings of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) – Army, Navy
and Air force have come forward voluntarily to join hands with the local
authorities to help in the fight and contain the spread of the global
pandemic of Coronavirus. The Motto of NCC is “Unity and Discipline”
and the NCC cadets have came forward in this hour of crisis by their
selfless service.

Training

Training had been given to the cadets under the exercise in the primary
days. The cadets had been taught how to maintain social distancing,
washing hands with soap and water, using masks & disinfecting
essential items, controlling crowd at public sectors like banks, ATMs,
ration stores and market places etc. All these training activities were
done under the supervision of the ANOs and PI staffs of their respective
units and battalions. Along with that cadets have learnt how to aware
people about the pandemic and necessary precautions.

Masks and supplies

Cadets distributed surgical masks and sanitizers and performed
demonstrations to how to use them. SW Cadets made masks at home and
distributed them. They made informative videos and posted them on
social medias to spread awareness. All the cadets provided essential
items such as ration and other commodities for healthy and necessary
living to the needy and poor people.
Influencing through various activities
Cadets performed demonstrative acts of maintaining social distancing.
Using masks and applying hand sanitizers and washing hands properly.
How to be physically and mentally fit by doing “Yoga” during the panic
situation. Many cadets prepared posters and paintings to spread
awareness, made videos and spread awareness on social media.

Planting Trees and Cleaning Campaigns

These two activities have been a part of NCC from a very long time.
Cadets perform these acts very often and are used to it. But during this
pandemic due to almost everything being shut and less man power
cadets have to do the above in order to keep the environment safe. Many
clean up drives have been done under this program and cadets planted
trees too.

Donating Blood
This activity is also very common in NCC but during this pandemic it
also becomes a very important and first priority because of the heavy
engagements of medical facilities. Cadets have donated blood and
contributed a bit further to the nation.

Conclusion
Everyone wants to turn the page on COVID-19 as soon as possible. But
lessons are inevitable. And it’s up to each of us to decide if those lessons
are right.
Throughout its long history India has repeatedly faced the most
dangerous challenges that threaten its survival. And each time, It not
only rose from the ashes and emerged stronger, but it also set an
example to other nations in terms of humanity and selflessness.
That is why our country, as an important international center, exporter
and guarantor of security, will continue to advance a constructive and
unified agenda and to play a balanced and coordinating role in
international affairs. NCC is ready to cooperate with all those who are
willing to work together on the principles of sincerity and consideration
of each other’s interests and concerns. NCC starts with the indivisibility
of all aspects of security, and NCC stands ready to help the government,
whatever their policies may be.
It's time to give up conventional thinking based on stereotypes and
finally start acting from a moral perspective. After all, our best bet is
happy future for all who live on Earth, our common home.

JAI HIND