The NITI Aayog CEO applauded OYO for giving all its room for medical care and stepping forward with various initiatives.

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant expresses the need for government support for the sectors like tourism and hospitality which are badly hit due to the second wave. “We should be as innovative as possible and support our industries both on the monetary as well as the fiscal side,” he said at virtual interactive sessions on saving lives and livelihoods organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

Several industry stakeholders like Ritesh Agarwal, CEO of OYO Rooms, Rohit Kapoor, CEO for India and South Asia at OYO Hotels & Homes, Gaurav Gupta, COO, Zomato, and Anil Rajput, Head, Corporate Affairs, ITC Ltd were present in the online meet.

Kant mentioned that the second wave is more catastrophic than the first one, and the private sector in such time has shown much support in order to support the government. “There has been further ramping up of the vaccination drive and the private sector has played a very pivotal role in managing the pandemic and has complemented the efforts of the government in a significant way,” he said.

He applauded OYO for giving all its room for medical care and stepping forward with various initiatives. Agarwal mentioned that smaller budget hotels need support from the government for survival. Further, he said, there are certain hygiene and sanitization practices that hotels need to adopt in order to attract more travelers. “Customers want sanitization to happen in front of their eyes,” he added.