Companies Worry Commerce Repercussions from India Lock-Out
immigration
Business leaders say singling out India without stopping flights from other high-risk countries is a “diplomatic disaster”. Anuja Nadkarni reports.
The suspension of flights from India is another setback for companies with a migrant background who have struggled for a year to rebuild trade ties with their country of birth.
Jay Changlani, director of accounting firm Orb 360, is preparing to resume travel to the subcontinent this month after a 14-month hiatus.
But the two-week suspension of flights from India has been pouring cold water over Changlani’s plans to get his business going again. The lockout is meant to give the New Zealand government some respite to investigate the recent surge in positive cases in arrivals.
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With additional administrative and accounting staff in India, Changlani was able to serve the clients of three accounting firms he had acquired in New Zealand over the past four years.
“Employing people in India has helped the company grow by increasing our efficiency and increasing our daily workload from six to eleven hours,” said Changlani.
The government’s announcement of the suspension of travel has faced backlash from the Indian community as it was the first time New Zealand prevented citizens and permanent residents from returning to the country.
Kiwi Indians felt lifted by the decision as the country allowed arrivals from other high-risk countries such as Brazil and the United States. The announcement also raised concerns by the Human Rights Commission about the lack of transparency regarding the reasons for the suspension.
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Covid-19 Response Secretary spokesman Chris Hipkins said there had been more than 10 cases a week from India for the past four weeks, while there had been 10 cases or more a week once from the US and three times from the UK in total the pandemic.
She said the proportion of returnees from India who arrived with Covid-19 is currently higher than the high for the UK or the US when large numbers arrived from those countries.
Economist Rodney Jones said the “explosion” of cases in India was “worrying” as the subcontinent recorded approximately 170,000 cases on Monday, the first day of the travel suspension.
Jones, who was also an informal government advisor on the pandemic, said the cases in India had been one of the worst spots in the pandemic.
He said New Zealand had not seen this concentration of cases from any country.
Jones said the government was not confident enough to know how India is handling the pandemic.
Epidemiologist Michael Baker said it was likely the suspension would be extended beyond the two-week period announced by the Prime Minister last week.
“It is very unlikely that the pandemic in India will improve in the next two weeks,” Baker said.
“I think the government will have few options. Given what is happening in India, it will be difficult to find a justification not to prolong it. “
Baker has been arguing since last October that arrivals from all over the world should “turn the tap off.” “The problem with MIQ is that it naturally leaks.”
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the government is looking at ways to reduce pre-boarding risk for travelers, including improving the testing regime before departure, during transit and at MIQ facilities in New Zealand.
The government has also worked with a number of stakeholders across the Indian community in New Zealand, he said.
The suspension of flights has been increased to “official levels,” with Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta communicating with her counterpart in New Delhi to clarify the context of the government’s decision, Hipkins said.
Because Immigration NZ did not require New Zealand nationals or permanent residents to provide their reasons for travel, the government did not know if arrivals were for business or personal reasons.
A health ministry spokeswoman said there was no specific information to suggest that the new variant originating in India, known as B.1.617, is more severe, has a higher transmission rate, or has a longer incubation period at this point.
Sameer Handa, chairman of India NZ Business Council, said the move to seek India for suspension was a “diplomatic disaster” for New Zealand.
“This is an important step from a health point of view, but highlighting India instead of stopping flights from other high-risk countries, for example, was not welcomed by the Indians,” said Handa.
Handa said an extension would worsen New Zealand companies’ operations and have a negative impact on trade.
Chandan Ohri, managing director of IT consultancy Duco Consultancy, said the impact of the negative perception of New Zealand among Indians was being felt by his company.
Ohri employed around a dozen workers in India who had been pending since the pandemic began.
The recent suspension of the trip has broken the confidence of its staff waiting for their visas.
Ohri said he was asking “unnecessary” questions from anxious workers in India who the company hired more than a year ago, which he believed could have been avoided through better communication from the New Zealand government.
He said the pandemic stalled the company’s 50 percent year-over-year growth rate.
“The implications are twofold. Our customers desperately need expertise in new technologies and digital transformation for automation. Since we are unable to execute the project, this continues to affect our customers’ efficiency and margins.”
He said the company lost $ 5 million in revenue last year.
“The other thing is that we cannot grow. As an emerging company, we feel that all of our growth has been constrained for us with no talent coming to New Zealand. it also has a multiplier effect on the economy.
“Our growth has been constrained because we just can’t get new business and our customer commitments are suffering because the talent isn’t there.”
Duco Consultancy relied heavily on skilled overseas IT professionals with niche expertise in developing new technologies.
“In the past few days we have received a lot of concerns from Indian employees about what this means for them. They fear the suspension could be extended. ”
Hipkins didn’t say whether an extension was likely at this point.
“The government is being advised by officials on the matter and will announce a decision in due course,” said Hipkins.
Changlani said extending the suspension would likely affect trade and foreign investment.
He said all of this impact could create a bigger problem across the board as people will be reluctant to do business in New Zealand.
However, should the suspension be extended, entrepreneurs will likely do what they do best to adjust.
Changlani said New Zealanders stuck on both sides of the border would likely take advantage of loopholes and use the Australian travel bubble to circumvent the suspension.
