Coronavirus Update: Govt. Caps Prices of Sanitizers & Mask.

Government has capped the prices of sanitizers and masks.What all is being done to fight Coronavirus?
If you would have interacted with stock traders (not investors) who always speculate the prices of stocks and put their money accordingly, you would have heard much time of their speculation going wrong. It so happens that they buy stocks in bulk at a higher price because they do not speculate the prices to go down. Afterward, when the prices go down, they regret having paid a higher price. Something similar must have happened with people who would have bought masks & sanitizer in panic (at a higher price) post the outbreak of Coronavirus. The government has capped the rate of sanitizers and masks to provide some relief to the people in these hard times. The private manufacturers have also welcomed this step by the government and are scaling their production to meet the rising demand in the market. What has the government decided exactly, read on to find out?

Capped Prices

The Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan recently informed through a tweet that a bottle of 200 ml of hand sanitizer will not be sold for more than Rs. 100 and that the prices of packs in other sizes correspond accordingly. Similarly, the rate of a 2-ply mask (surgical) has been capped by the government at Rs. 8 while a 3-ply mask will not be sold for more than Rs. 10. The government also issued a press release in which it informed that these capped prices will be applicable till June 30, 2020. It needs to be mentioned here that last month only, the government had declared the sanitizers and masks as ‘essential commodities’. This was done to prevent the price manipulation and hoarding of these goods. However, various news reports claimed that unethical ways were used without any fear by the traders and these goods were sold at prices even more than the MRP (Maximum Retail Price).

Cooperation by Private Players

HUL (Hindustan Unilever Limited) has announced that not only it will follow the price capping imposed by the government but, will also reduce the prices of products of its other brands like Lifebuoy and Domex to make personal care and home hygiene products affordable for people in this situation. The company has also scaled up its production to meet the rising demand and it has also announced that the company is committed to scale its production even further in the coming weeks. Godrej Consumer Product Limited (GCPL) has also followed suit and deferred the price hike on its soaps. ITC, RB, Dabur, Himalaya have also said that the stand strong with the nation and are not currently thinking much about the price cap imposed by the government. These companies are also trying to ensure that the supplies reach the shopkeepers on time so that there is no supply lag.

Conclusion

The world is fighting a war against Coronavirus and with the vaccination still not available, it’s becoming difficult to control the damage being caused. The rising number of cases in India is a matter of concern, however, the steps being taken by the government are appreciable and the private players cooperating with them is good to see. But, this is not over yet! We too can play a small part in this war. If we pay the taxes honestly, the government will be able to tackle the situation better with these funds. So, let’s take the #FinologyPledge and do our bit.