Narayana Murthy wants coronavirus vaccines at no cost to people, disapproves WFH on permanent basis

18-Nov-2020

At present, there is a lot of positive conversation around the Covid-19 vaccine and large pharmaceutical companies such as Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and others have been optimistic about the results of coronavirus vaccine, Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy has said people should not be charged for getting a coronavirus vaccine once a shot becomes available. �I believe (Covid-19 vaccine) should be a public good and everybody should be vaccinated free. These vaccines should be free for the entire population on the planet. All vaccine-producing companies should be compensated by the UN or the individual countries for their cost and not for huge profits,� Murthy told ET in an exclusive interview. It is worth mentioning here that releasing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) manifesto for the Bihar assembly elections last month, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had promised free Covid-19 vaccine once it is cleared by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The tycoon further emphasised that companies that can bear the cost should give the vaccine at no cost and produce it free. Plus, UN Security Council members should share a major part of this cost. Murthy�s remarks are pertinent as both Pfizer and Moderna are two-dose vaccines and India would need approximately 3 billion doses for its entire population. On Tuesday, daily coronavirus cases jumped to over 38,000 after falling below 30,000 the previous day. Murthy, 74, said he doesn�t support working from home (WFH) on a permanent basis. �We do it today as a temporary measure to reduce the spread of Covid-19. Let us remember most houses in our country are small and getting a secluded place at home where you can focus on work is difficult,� the financial daily quoted him as saying. Furthermore, the Infosys co-founder supports the idea of re-opening of schools for short durations with adequate safeguards. �We have to take all precautions PPEs (personal protective equipment), social distancing, masks everything we have to. However, we cannot close our schools,� he emphasised. Commenting on India is facing multiple challenges on the economic front, Murthy said several sectors of the economy are showing sign of revival. He went on to add that the main challenge is to increase demand so that the job situation improves. �We need the Keynesian method at this point of time it doesn�t have to be only the government, it could be in other ways too.� Murthy further elaborated that experts are of the view that the country needs to generate 1 crore jobs annually for the next 15-20 years in order to eradicate poverty and it is a massive challenge.