Indians Have Had to Be Aatmanirbhar During COVID-19 â and Now They Will Be Taxed for It Out-of-pocket expenditure for families affected by COVID-19 has been extremely high in many cases. These expenses have not been made tax deductible. A boy walks past a graffiti amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on a street in New Delhi, India, March 22, 2021. Photo: Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis Government8 hours ago In his speech on May 12, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi coined the term âAatmanirbhar Bharatâ (self-reliant India) and launched the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. What came to pass, instead, was not Aatmanirbhar Bharat but Aatmanirbhar Bharatiya (self-reliant Indian), as each Indian was left to fend for himself or herself.