The intention behind the prime minister’s generous package for the construction sector, now elevated to industry, is understandable because of the urgency to create employment for the lowest income groups and get the economy going once again. Construction has traditionally moved in lockstep with real estate, which is a leading indicator, so it must have made that much more sense to policymakers to start from here. Should this incentive work – and there’s no reason for it not to, is there? – you can expect much upward movement in the economy over next couple of quarters. Yet perhaps the government did not prioritise this correctly. No doubt the lockdown will simply fail if the economy collapses; hence the need to start somewhere. But in light of the recent joint warning from the World Health Organisation (WHO), World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) about looming global food shortage should something not be done about handling the coronavirus soon, the government’s thrust would certainly have been better directed towards the agriculture sector and all associated industries. This way a lot of daily wagers would find employment and a very crucial sector would start functioning again. And most importantly, the problem of food shortage would be handled in time. Not that there’s anything wrong with construction, but there could be big problems with making houses and factories if people start running out of food. Let’s not forget, of course, that whatever is to be done about reviving the economy will have to be done very carefully indeed. It’s not as if the virus will stop spreading just because we open very limited parts of the economy. Whichever sector is stimulated, construction industry in this case, will of course face the threat of the virus spreading just as soon as people start returning to their jobs. Needless to say, then, that the strictest safety standards will have to be implemented. And this problem is hardly unique to Pakistan. As countries across the world are coming to terms with the fact that stimulus packages will last only so long, and economies will have to be opened up slowly, everybody must also brace for new cases. This, unfortunately, is the new reality and until there is a medical cure to the coronavirus, everybody will have to innovate just to be able to stay above water. *