The U.S.-India Business Council is working with our members, the U.S. Government, and the Government of India to resolve issues related to the operation and movement of essential goods, businesses and personnel. In India, USIBC is collaborating with Invest India to address operational issues for industry, and Invest India has assigned staff to provide oversight for cases that are raised by the Council. USIBC members can use the “Write to Us” and WhatsApp Live Chat buttons in the left menu bar of the Business Immunity Platform. If you are asking for exemption from shutdown of non-essential business activity in a particular location, you can request support from Invest India in addition to engaging the state and/or municipal authorities. Please be prepared to provide the following information:

• Number of impacted employees
• Location of impacted operations
• Justification for seeking exemption
• Protective measures your firm is prepared to take including transportation, safety, and health precautions for impacted operations

The U.S. Chamber is collecting information and facilitating information sharing on coronavirus through the Combating the Coronavirus page on the web. You can also check out the Chamber’s Coronavirus Response Toolkit for businesses.

Since the passage of the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, many companies have focused on how the funds will be disbursed. This is a particularly critical question for small businesses, who have less flexibility to absorb the costs of a shutdown. With this in mind, the Chamber published a guide to provisions in the Act, What Businesses Need to Know, as well as more detailed information designed to support small businesses seeking financial support:

• Guide to SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans
• Guide to the Employee Retention Tax Credit
• Coronavirus Emergency Loans: Small Business Guide and Checklist

The U.S. Chamber has also played a leading role in advocacy during the COVID-19 period to ensure that businesses get the financial support needed and that governments remove barriers to the essential medical goods and services needed to fight the pandemic.

As businesses shutter and people remain in their homes across the globe, the global economy is already beginning to feel the impact – and the after-effects are projected to last well into the months ahead. Here is some preliminary analysis of the COVID-19 shutdown on the Indian and global economy.

• World Bank | Goldman Sachs Sees India GDP Growth Plunge to 1.6% In FY21
• Asian Development Bank | India’s Growth to Slow to 4% in FY2020, Recover to 6.2% in FY2021
• OECD | Outlook on the Global Economy
• PTI/Bloomberg Quint | India’s GDP For FY21 Projected At 4.8%, Says UN Report
• Goldman Sachs | Oil’s Seismic Shock
• International Labour Organization | COVID-19 and the world of work
• COVID-19: Economic Impacts: Beware the Ides of March (KPMG)
• COVID-19: Impact on Industry and the Economy (Confederation of Indian Industry)
• How COVID-19 will reshape Global Gas (CSIS Commentary)

Essential businesses are working around the clock to ensure that their goods and services can reach healthcare workers, first responders, and ordinary citizens across both countries. Across industries, many of our members are reinventing their businesses to create personal protective equipment and adapting their services to fit the needs of the current crisis response, as well as contributing to relief initiatives like providing food and shelter for the needy; supporting a transition to virtual education for thousands of students; and developing new tracking and response technology. To contribute to our running #Biz4Good list, members should reach out to Priyanka Sethi and Carolyn Posner.